For the first time in Italy, 200 works by one of the greatest Japanese artists of all time will be on show, in the capital, at the Museo Fondazione Roma (formerly Museo del Corso).Hosted by Fondazione Roma in collaboration with the Honolulu Academy of Arts, produced in collaboration with Arthemisia, the exhibition is curated by Gian Carlo Calza.

It represents a unique opportunity to get to know an artist whose outstanding talent for contemplating and conveying a harmonious vision of nature, even in the midst of a blizzard, or at the centre of a whirlpool, still channels an intense capacity for religious absorption, bringing human sentiments in tune with the pulse of the cosmos, connecting the infinitely small with the boundlessly immense.

For the first time in Italy, thanks to the commitment of the Foundation's Chairman, Prof. Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, the exhibition presents the works of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), an artist who significantly influenced painting in Europe, particularly Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism. Imitated by numerous 19th century painters, his most famous emulator was Vincent Van Gogh.

Divided into five sections, the exhibition presents works from the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The first section, "The World of Nature", contains prints which are masterpieces in the representation of natural elements: plants and flowers, birds, fish and other animals, all elements of the cosmic life force that man must live in harmony with.

The second section, "Postcards from the Provinces", is dedicated to works that depict the most important places in Japan.

The third section, "The Road to Kyoto", is dedicated to the two great thoroughfares that connected the imperial capital of Kyoto to the administrative capital of Edo (Tokyo). This section contains the work The Fifty-Three Stations of the T_kaid_, universally considered to be the artist's absolute masterpiece.

The fourth section, "In the Heart of Tokyo", features views of Edo, the so-called "Western capital" of Japan - now Tokyo - which was home to the sh_gun, the military and political head of Japan. Hiroshige depicted over a hundred locations in the city which were assiduously frequented by both inhabitants and visitors alike.

A separate section, entitled "Hiroshige's Landscapes in Early Photography", bears witness to the influence Hiroshige had on the new medium and the vision of the first photographers.

To enable an immediate comparison between Hiroshige and van Gogh, the exhibition also presents three reproductions of van Gogh masterpieces directly inspired by Hiroshige's works, which are held in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, but impossible to move due to their delicate state of conservation.

These works have been faithfully reproduced in ultra high resolution by the RAI, using a special digital processing technique.

Young visitors to the exhibition will receive, free of charge, a "Travel Diary" to use during their visit, and collect stamps in as they tour the exhibition. To get a taste of Japanese writing, they will also be able to try their hand at creating some ideograms (kanji), reproducing them on water drawing mats.

And for the first time in Rome, visits for youngsters wishing to explore 19th century Japan will feature audio guides specially prepared for children and teenagers.



ROMA, FONDAZIONE ROMA MUSEO 17 MARZO > 7 GIUGNO 2009

A CURA DI GIAN CARLO CALZA

DA MARTEDI' A DOMENICA 10.00 > 20.00 / LUNEDI' CHIUSO / FROM TUESDAY TO SUNDAY 10.00 AM > 08.00 PM / LA BIGLIETTERIA CHIUDE ALLA 19.15 / TICKET OFFICE WILL CLOSE AT 07.15 PM