Fuchū: The Abe River

Utagawa Hiroshige

1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Fuchū: The Abe River

Kanaya: The Far Bank of the Ōi River

Mitsuke: View of the Tenryū River

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
Year: 1833–34
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
Original size: 24.1 × 35.6 cm
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP490; many other impressions exist)
Movement: Ukiyo-e
Series: Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō

Porters stripped for the water wade across the wide, shallow Abe River, carrying a woman in a palanquin on poles, another passenger on a platform and a packhorse's load of bales. Behind them a long dark mountain rises beyond the far bank, and the sky shades from deep blue at the top to pale cream above a band of white mist. The print is number twenty in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. Fuchū, the nineteenth station, was the provincial capital of Suruga, also known as Sunpu and today the city of Shizuoka, and its river had no bridge, so travellers paid porters to carry them across; impressions vary in colour and condition.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Turquoise water, a dark mountain and touches of yellow and indigo, for a study, den or hallway at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs with Okitsu: The Okitsu River for two scenes of porters carrying travellers across a river.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (1833–34)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cornflower blue, cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, travelers, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Fuchū: The Abe River in the public domain?

Yes. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Fuchū: The Abe River painted, and in what medium?

Fuchū: The Abe River dates from 1833–34 and was made in woodblock print; ink and colour on paper; the original measures 24.1 × 35.6 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Fuchū: The Abe River we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Hiroshige's Fuchū: The Abe River — porters wading through the wide blue Abe River carrying travellers and a palanquin — the whole woodblock print shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. Print 20 of the 55 in Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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