Flowering plum orchard: after Hiroshige (October 1887 - November 1887) by Vincent van GoghVan Gogh Museum
Some time around the late 1880s, Vincent van Gogh's taste in art began to change. His early career had been defined by his love of Northern European artists such as Jean-François Millet, but some of his favourite artists in later life were Japanese woodblock artists.
When Van Gogh moved to Paris in 1886, he leapt at the chance to collect Japanese prints. Over the winter of 1886-87, he bought 660 woodcuts from the Paris art dealer Siegfried Bing. This realignment saw his own art explode in colour and vitality.
This painting, Flowering plum orchard, was made by Van Gogh as an homage to Hiroshige, perhaps his favourite Japanese artist. It replicated, almost exactly, Hiroshige's woodblock print, Plum Park in Kameido.
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo “Plum Garden in Kameido” (1857) by Utagawa HiroshigeShizuoka city Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Hiroshige was born in 1797 and died in 1858. He and Van Gogh were almost contemporaries. Hiroshige worked in Japan as an artist of the ukiyo-e genre, painting fashionable women, actors, and landscapes of the city of Edo, modern-day Tokyo.
Hiroshige himself was strongly influenced by Hokusai, regarded by many as the master of ukiyo-e and woodblock printing, though Hiroshige opted for subtler colours, more sensuous subjects, and more complex compositions than Hokusai.
Beyond Japan, Hiroshige's artwork was collected by Europeans such as Eduoard Manet and Claude Monet. The increasing attention paid to Japanese aesthetics, known as Japonisme, reflected the increasing contact with this formerly closed and fiercely independent nation.
Plum Park in Kameido is part of the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo which features 119 views of various landmarks in the city of Edo. Van Gogh actually owned twelve prints from the series, and this was one of them.
The unusual vertical composition of a landscape emphasises the twisted trunks of trees, particularly the one that dominates the foreground. The gnarled trunk of the plum tree strikes an assertive streak across the pleasant parkland.
The deep grey of the tree makes a marked contrast to the pink twilight sky. The white and yellow flowers contrasting with both these, and the grey-green lawn.
Both the sky and ground show off Hiroshige's signature 'bokashi' technique of grading colours across a print. This method is technically complex, the printer must mix ink with water across the printing block to achieve a diluted gradient.
Flowering plum orchard: after Hiroshige (October 1887 - November 1887) by Vincent van GoghVan Gogh Museum
In his homage, Van Gogh creates a similar effect using oil paints. The effect is very different, as thick oil paints can't be watered down. Instead he uses short strokes of mixed colors - moving from white, to yellow, to pink, to red.
Van Gogh's image also lacks the sharp details of Hiroshige's woodcut print. Compare these wavy brushstrokes to the sharp lines of Hiroshige's print.
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo “Plum Garden in Kameido” (1857) by Utagawa HiroshigeShizuoka city Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
The heavy, glossy colors of Van Gogh's oil painting can't compare to the lightness and subtlely of Hiroshige's ink.
This isn't to say that one is better than the other, but that they're working within their own traditions, using very different media. It's a case of Van Gogh learning how far he can push the limits of oil painting and develop his art.
Flowering plum orchard: after Hiroshige (October 1887 - November 1887) by Vincent van GoghVan Gogh Museum
Van Gogh would always love painting blossoms. They were reportedly his favourite subject. When his beloved nephew Vincent (named in his honour) was born, he gave him a painting of almond blossom.
They represented spring, possibility, the sunny climate of southern France, and what Van Gogh saw as the spirituality and refinement of Japan.
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo “Plum Garden in Kameido” (1857) by Utagawa HiroshigeShizuoka city Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Hiroshige's woodcuts are so subtle, it's easy to imagine that you can smell the blossom wafting on the warm evening breeze.
