Landscape Prints by Keisai Eisen

While primarily remembered for his portraits of women, particularly the sumptuously dressed courtesans of the Yoshiwara brothel district, the prolific woodblock print designer Keisai Eisen (1790–1848) also produced numerous landscapes throughout his career. A clear influence upon the artist was Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), so much so that Eisen’s vistas are often mistaken for those of his contemporary. Nevertheless, his profound skill at depicting figures in action and creating dramatic mood through the use of lighting is entirely unique. The works displayed here testify that, alongside both Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), Eisen was one of the most formidable Japanese landscape artists of the 19th century.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website