Fuchu 1906

This print, "Fuchu" from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" by Utagawa Hiroshige, was made with woodblocks and ink. It’s all about watery blues and greys, the kind that makes you think of misty mornings and the quiet hustle of people getting from one place to another. Look at how he handles the water. See those gentle, horizontal lines? You can almost feel the current, the way it moves and flows. And then there are the people, wading through, their shapes simplified, almost like little gestures. It's like the whole scene is made of breath. Hiroshige’s work reminds me of Agnes Martin, actually. Both artists are so different, but they both find a way to strip things down to their essence, using repetition and subtle shifts in tone to create these really immersive, atmospheric spaces. It’s not about detail, it’s about feeling. And that’s what makes art so damn interesting, isn’t it? The way it can conjure a world from just a few marks.