Gazing at Mt. Fuji on the Horse by Utagawa Toyohiro — Japanese Color woodblock print; surimono, 19th century

Gazing at Mt. Fuji on the Horse

by Utagawa Toyohiro

Date:: 19th century
Medium:: Color woodblock print; surimono
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Description

A surimono showing a figure on horseback gazing at Mount Fuji, a deluxe privately commissioned print that combines the classical motif of the sacred mountain with the equestrian dignity of a traveler at rest. Fuji as a subject was already by the early nineteenth century the most heavily worked motif in Japanese visual art, and Toyohiro's treatment here, in the small, refined surimono format, is the opposite of bombastic, leaning instead on quiet symbolic resonance and on the deluxe printing effects (likely metallic pigments and embossing in the original) that distinguished surimono from commercial prints. The Art Institute of Chicago dates the impression broadly to the nineteenth century, consistent with Toyohiro's late period of surimono production.

More Prints by Utagawa Toyohiro

Autumn Moon at Atago Hill (Atago shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Edo (Edo hakkei)" by Utagawa Toyohiro

Autumn Moon at Atago Hill (Atago shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Edo (Edo hakkei)"

c. 1804/18

Color woodblock print; oban

The Seventh Month, from the series The Twelve Months by Two Artists (Ryoga juni ko) by Utagawa Toyohiro

The Seventh Month, from the series The Twelve Months by Two Artists (Ryoga juni ko)

n.d.

Color woodblock prints; oban triptych

Owl and Two Swallows by Utagawa Toyohiro

Owl and Two Swallows

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Young Man Writing at a Table by Utagawa Toyohiro

Young Man Writing at a Table

c. 1800

color woodblock print

More Mount Fuji Prints

Fuji from tea farm by Ito Takashi

Fuji from tea farm

Woodblock print

Akasaka, Fujikawa, Okazaki, Chiryu, and Narumi, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Five Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki goshuku meisho)" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Akasaka, Fujikawa, Okazaki, Chiryu, and Narumi, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Five Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki goshuku meisho)"

c. 1830/35

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

Color woodblock print; oban

Mt. Fuji in Rain (Ame no Fuji) by Kawase Hasui

Mt. Fuji in Rain (Ame no Fuji)

n.d.

Color woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Mount Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Gazing at Mt. Fuji on the Horse was created by Utagawa Toyohiro (歌川豊広) in 19th century.

Gazing at Mt. Fuji on the Horse depicts mount fuji.