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HIROSHIGE FAN PRINTS

Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art
5 September - 7 November 2001
'Courtesans Visiting a Temple at Dawn', woodblock fan print, by Hiroshige I (1797-1858), 1855, width 29.5cm. Museum No. E.538-1911
The V&A's collection of fan prints by the celebrated nineteenth-century ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige is the largest of its kind in the world. Assembled between 1886 and 1919, the collection of more than 120 designs is the subject of a newly published catalogue by Rupert Faulkner of the V&A's Far Eastern Department (V&A Publications, June 2001). The selection of works shown in the Toshiba Gallery, to be rotated in early October, illustrates Hiroshige's remarkable facility not only to meet the exacting requirements of the fan print format but to exploit its potential for unique compositional effect. The display will include rare preliminary drawings recently acquired through the generosity of The Donor Friends of the V&A.
Japan 2001 at the V&A home page
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'Courtesans Visiting a Temple at Dawn', woodblock fan print, by Hiroshige I (1797-1858), 1855, width 29.5cm. Museum No. E.538-1911