Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake (1857) by Hiroshige. Its palette is led by light muted green (#94a292, 23%) and taupe (#4f443b, 20%), with accents of grey, amber brown and scarlet red. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Hiroshige used Prussian blue in skies and water so strikingly that the deep color became known in the West as “Hiroshige blue”.

Palette

#787c77 MG 215 grey 23.7% of canvas
#94a292 MG 055 light muted green 23.4% of canvas
#4f443b MG 176 taupe 20.5% of canvas
#e5cda7 MG 202 pale muted golden cream 18.4% of canvas
#f2e9d7 MG 200 ivory 7.1% of canvas
#ac7f5f MG 165 amber brown 5.1% of canvas
#aa3630 MG 019 scarlet red 1.7% of canvas

Color families

Gray 30%, Brown 28%, White 19%, Green 11%, Orange 4%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.64
Contrast: 0.58
Vividness: 0.035
Warmth: +0.80
Complexity: 193 cells
Hue range: 0.59
Focus: 0.00

Composition

51% of the visual weight is in the left half, 58% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.46 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 27% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 32% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1857
Medium: Woodblock print; ink on paper
Genre: ukiyo-e
Collection: Brooklyn Museum, New York City

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More by Hiroshige

Fuchu, 1831
Famous Views of the 60-odd Provinces, 1853
Nihonbashi: Clearing after Snow, 1856
Plum Park in Kameido, 1857
Shichūhan'ei tanabata matsuri, 1857
Suidōbashi surugadai, 1857
Fireworks at Ryogoku, 1858