Utagawa Hiroshige
1857

One of the prints in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series, a masterpiece from Hiroshige’s later years. Caught in the rain, people are hurrying across the Shin-Ōhashi Bridge spanning the Sumida River. Although their faces are hidden by umbrellas (one by a straw raincoat), each has an eye-catching motion or demeanor. A humorous note is added by the three men sharing one umbrella in the center; apparently two of them were not prepared for the sudden evening shower. The “Atake” in the title is the name of a district on the opposite coast. There, the hard rainfall in the center of the print turns into a mist. Boats and buildings are depicted in silhouette.
Vincent van Gogh emulated this print in his Bridge in the Rain (After Hiroshige), which he painted in the autumn of 1887. He was particularly fond of the way Hiroshige rendered people, and made a point of leaving a note indicating that his painting was a reproduction. The rendering of the rain covering the whole print reportedly had a strong influence on Gogh’s paintings of rainy landscapes.