Hanga
The Acropolis Ruins at Night by Hiroshi Yoshida — Japanese Woodblock print, ink and color on paper, 1925

The Acropolis Ruins at Night

by Hiroshi Yoshida

Shin-hanga
Night Scenes
Date:
1925
Medium:
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Format:
Oban
Dimensions:
27.4 × 41.9 cm
Publisher:
Yoshida Studio

Description

The Acropolis Ruins at Night presents the Parthenon and the sacred hill of Athens under darkness — one of Yoshida's most ambitious European nocturnes, made during his 1925 Western tour. The ancient limestone of the Acropolis takes on a ghostly luminosity under moonlight or artificial illumination, its ruined columns simultaneously documenting historical loss and asserting architectural permanence. Yoshida translates this profoundly Western subject into the Japanese woodblock medium with complete compositional authority, the layered blue-blacks of his nocturne achieving an atmospheric depth worthy of the ancient site.

More Prints by Hiroshi Yoshida

Chikugo River by Hiroshi Yoshida

Chikugo River

Woodblock print

Sacred Bridge by Hiroshi Yoshida

Sacred Bridge

Woodblock print

Soshu (Suzhou) by Hiroshi Yoshida

Soshu (Suzhou)

Woodblock print

Kanchenjunga by Hiroshi Yoshida

Kanchenjunga

1931

Woodblock Print

More Night Scenes Prints

E

Evening in East Africa

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Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui

Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Teradomari no yau

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Color woodblock print; oban

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"

1947

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Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" by Kawase Hasui

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"

March 1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print RevivalHiroshi Yoshida's International Travel Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

The Acropolis Ruins at Night was created by Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田博) in 1925.

The Acropolis Ruins at Night was published by Yoshida Studio (1925).

The Acropolis Ruins at Night depicts night scenes.

The Acropolis Ruins at Night measures 27.4 × 41.9 cm (Oban format).