Funeral Procession with Umbrellas (L’Enterrement aux Parapluies)

Henri Rivière

1891 · Color woodcut from six blocks · Drawings and Prints

One of the primary artists responsible for the renewal of color printmaking in late nineteenth-century France, Rivière started producing color woodcuts in 1890 after studying Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Created from six blocks, one for each color, this composition of a funeral procession reveals the influence of Andō Hiroshige (1797–1858) with its plunging perspective, flattened compositional space, and dramatic representation of the slanting rain—conveyed both by diagonal black lines as well as the woodgrain of the block printed in blue-grey watery ink. The rosy twilight visible through the clouds provides striking chromatic contrast and a hopeful glimmer on the horizon

Artist

Henri Rivière

Date

1891

Medium

Color woodcut from six blocks

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Peco Foundation, 2023