Ukiyo

Many social and economic changes took place in the middle and late Edo period that gave rise to such developments as “Pictures of the Floating World.” The steady commercial growth, albeit an entirely domestic one as a result of Japan’s isolationist policy, and peace that were established by the Tokugawa shogunate eventually led to a highly prosperous merchant class. Regarded as the lowest rank in the social hierarchy, some of the townspeople were even more affluent than the samurai, who occupied…

on European art. Japanese art influenced many European artists, including, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Ranson. Ukiyo-e prints reached Europe in the 1800s. In Europe they became a source of inspiration for many impressionist painters. During the 1800s in France, there were exhibitions of Ukiyo-e art and it resulted in the growing popularity of Japanese style art all across Europe. The Ukiyo-e art pieces tended to have limited depth, emphasis on shapes, outlines, flat areas of color, and everyday…

son Kano Motonobu (1476-1559). It was commenced when there was a protest against the Chinese ink painting technique in black. The Kano school put bright colors to use and set forth daring compositions with large flat areas, which later dominated the ukiyo-e…

Province is a 3 piece colored artwork. These pieces are apart of a larger series called The Six Crystal Rivers. These pieces are made from 1847 to 1848. Utagawa had used a popular style of woodblock prints and paintings during the Edo period called ukiyo-e. Although they can be displayed separately on their own, the prints can be put together to form an even larger piece of artwork. These series of prints are 14 inches tall and 30 inches wide when assembled side by side. Individually, the…

A handscroll is a long narrow scroll for displaying a series of scenes in Japanese painting and calligraphy. The handscroll presents an artwork in the horizontal form and can be exceptionally long. The development of Heian culture was a way to show your love for another person. Both women and men would produce poems as well as paintings and calligraphy on the handscrolls. Lady Murasaki is the author of Tale of Genji one of the world’s longest novels. The significance of Tale of Genji is to…

belongs to painter Ukiyo, his wife Tanaka, and their small son Musuko; "But most of all, the plum tree was the home of Musuko's friend, the nightingale." They must part with the tree, they know; before it is taken away, however, Musuko ties a scroll to one of its branches. When the emperor finds the decorated scroll and reads its message, "At the long day's end, when the nightingale flies home, what shall I tell her?” The emperor returns the plum tree to Musuko. First, though, Ukiyo must paint…

Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese painter who used the ukiyo-e style of painting. He was considered to be the expert on Chinese art in Japan. He was also a printmaker during the Edo period. He was born in what in now known as Tokyo in 1760. He was born to an artisan family, his father being believed to be Nakajima Ise, the mirror maker for the shogun. He may have learned some of his technique from his father, who had paintings and designs on the mirrors he made. It is believed that his mother…

Similarities can be seen in many of the things that inspired both the art nouveau movement and the pop art movement. Both of these movements drew some of their inspiration from the Japanese art form Ukiyo-e. Art nouveau borrowed many of its floral pattern and curved line ideas from Ukiyo-e, while the use of abstract elements and bold colour was borrowed by pop artists. Both art nouveau and pop art were also inspired by objects from the surroundings. Art nouveau was heavily inspired by nature…

In this Woodblock portrait, Hokusai has combined the faces of two demons. One demon is named Hannya, and the second is Yamanba. Hannya’s face comes from a mask used in Noh theatre and Japanese plays. The Hannya mask is supposed to portray souls of women who have become demons due to obsessive jealousy. The demon is said to be dangerous, but also tormented, which shows the complexity of human emotions. The second demon, Yamanba, is believed to eat infants brought to the mountains. In this…

The Impressionist Movement: Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt Throughout history, art has acted as a medium of expression for many of the political and social issues that surrounded the artists. Artworks inspired new art movements, and other times it was the political and social circumstances that brought on a new range of artists and styles. The 19th century moved through many art movements, but one that dominated most of the late 19th century was Impressionism. Impressionism was an art style that…