Ukiyo-e reproduction Expressing the harmony between art and nature - Pine trees on the Tone-gawa River by Hiroshige

"Scattered Pines on the Tone-gawa River" (original title: 利根川ばらばらま) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in August 1856.

This print once again offers a remarkable example of the artist's compositional conception, with a landscape seen through a fishing net that occupies the right-hand side, giving the illusion of "participating" in the scene. The seemingly ordinary aspect of a river landscape is thus enhanced by an original viewpoint and a surprising scene of everyday life in Edo, characteristic of Hiroshige's late style and of the Hundred Views series in particular. Beyond the net, the image divides horizontally into two distinct areas, with the river and an area of reeds in the lower left corner, and the sky above, with its usual gradation between black and blue, crossed by the flight of two herons. In the center of the image, partially hidden by the net, is a large sailing boat, perhaps fishing for the carp of the Tone River, renowned for their quality.