The artwork titled “64 (56) Horikiri Iris Garden” is a woodblock print created by the artist Hiroshige in 1857. This piece is part of the Ukiyo-e art movement, which focuses on depicting the transient beauty of the natural and urban landscapes of Japan. The genre of this artwork includes both landscape and flower painting, and it belongs to the renowned series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.”
The artwork depicts a serene and captivating view of an iris garden at Horikiri. Tall, delicate iris flowers dominate the foreground, their slender stems and vibrant blossoms reaching towards the sky. The composition leads the viewer’s eye from the vividly detailed foreground to an expansive background where smaller figures of people can be seen strolling amongst the flowers. The watery expanse in the lower half of the piece reflects the sky, which transitions from a pale blue to a warm, orangish hue, capturing the ambiance of a sunset or dawn. The piece exquisitely highlights Hiroshige’s mastery in rendering the poetic beauty of nature and the harmonious interplay of colors, characteristic of the Ukiyo-e style.
