Nicholas Mulroy

Here is a print owned by none other than Van Gogh, who also made his own copy. I love the jarring perspective: people dwarfed by distance (small… far away…), the implacably robust tree in the foreground, the blossom prosaically unaware of its own heartbreaking beauty. Hirsohige seems more concerned with the richness of his composition, the quiet balance, and the funky angles, while the smallness of human life and relations is suddenly made apparent in the distance with twinkly wit and wisdom. You might speculate but can never know the nature of those animated, far-off conversations. Above them, the sky is turning a miraculous cerise that fills the air with the warm breath of dusky evening as we head toward darkness. There’s a bit more, too: the people also act as the horizon here, and the unusual, clumsy vantage point might make us reflect. We’re almost hiding behind the tree – this would make a terrible photo! Compare Hiroshige’s rooted, everyday scenes with Hokusai’s soaring hymns to the epic world; here is an artist more concerned with humanity, lightness of touch, the present tense. The quiet burr of evening conversation, the glorious blossom, the tranquility of routine human and natural life, even the sheer amount of space the artist allows in his composition, suggest a simple but important instruction, one that Van Gogh, Whistler, Monet and others all took to their art and their hearts: take your time, listen, smell, look up, savour the simple things, and the surprising joy in a single moment. As GKC says, “the world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder”.

t of optimism over the coming weeks… Happy Christmas all!