The Aesthetic Dialogue Between Klimt and Hiroshige

Evaluating the potential of Japanese art for the revitalization of his own style, Klimt turned first and foremost to ukiyo-e prints. The first Japanese artist that seriously caught his attention was Utagawa Hiroshige. This chapter demonstrates how the prints from Hiroshige's last series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo , decisively influenced certain aspects of Klimt's formal language and, consequently, played a pivotal role in reshaping his artistic style. Examining these changes, this chapter introduces the terms “distracting mechanisms,” “test-of-mirroring,” and “metamorphosing mode.” Furthermore, it argues that Hiroshige's art ignited Klimt's interest in landscape painting as a genre.