Ukiyo-e

Utagawa Hiroshige I created Hamamatsu: Winter Scene in the Edo period (1833-34) using the medium of woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Specifications include: dimensions of 9 in. x 14 in. and a landscape orientation, as showcased in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, U.K. The piece depicts a wintry rural scene on the outskirts of Hamamatsu station. The village and Hamamatsu Castle are visible in the distance. Porters warm themselves by a bonfire while another traveler looks on, pipe in hand,…

Many artists throughout the world have looked to the Japanese as inspiration for their own art. Artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso have utilized the Japanese style, known as Japonisme to give their art a fresh look, or just to experiment with new things. A very accomplished artist, James Tissot, used this Japanese style in his earlier works. Tissot began his art career in the mid 1850’s while studying in college. It was in the 1860’s when he began to experiment with the eastern art…

The Dawn at Isawa in Kai Province is a painting in a collection of works titled Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji, by artist Katsushika Hokusai between 1830-1833. However, even though the series is named thirty-six views, Dawn at Isawa in Kai Province is the fifth of an additional ten paintings added onto the original set of thirty-six due to the overall popularity of Katsushika Hokusai’s work. The series, as the title states, contains thirty-six various views of Mt.Fuji and the areas surrounding the…

Compare and Contrast Essay The two works of art that I have chosen to compare and contrast had me worried at first. I wondered if there were enough things to compare between the two. However, after evaluating Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s Samurai Attacks Woman and Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s self portrait, I have come to find that they share many things in common; from medium to colour, I will discuss the vast array of contrasts as well as similarities. It helps first to describe the two pieces. The first…

The artist Kawase Hasui, was a printmaker who used color and repetition to uniquely style his works. He was one of the most famous artists of the “Shin Hanga” movement during early 20th century Japan. Influenced by Impressionism, “Shin Hanga” meant “new prints” that focused on landscapes and portraits using various amount of colors. As a leader in this movement, Kawase Hasui created many landscapes, often using the same woodblock only with different colors. However, he presented more of the…

from C.R. Boxer in 1951, collected by J.C. Pabst and is currently held in the British Museum collection in London. Deshima Prostitute with Fan is a good example of Nagasaki-e prints, which are recognizable through their depictions of Dutch people, ships and exotic animals. A derivative of the popular Ukiyo-e print genre, Nagasaki-e prints were mainly created as souvenirs for the Japanese middle class. Background The Edo Period (1769 - 1868) saw the end of ancient feudal…

The visual style of the ukiyo-r print is very similar to the performance style of the Kabuki theater. The two pieces of art both share the same coloring. The emotions in the theater are also represented in the ukiyo-r print. Both forms of art show what life was like during that time period. The ukiyo-r print and the performance style of the Kabuki theater are very similar forms of art that have the same colors, emotions, and story. The colors in the ukiyo-r print and the performance style of…

In 1831, at the age of twelve, Walt Whitman began working for his local newspaper. He soon fell in love with the written word and started writing his own poetry (“Poet Walt Whitman”). Fast forward to the turn of the 20th century, and Whitman has already made a name for himself as one of America’s most influential poets. Two of Whitman’s most esteemed works are “O Captain! My Captain!”, written in 1865 to reflect on Abraham Lincoln's death, and “O Me! O Life!”, written in 1891 to contemplate…

Throughout history, human civilizations have been built on conforming to social norms. Likewise, there have always been individuals, throughout history, who have ventured outside of those norms, many times to the dismay or even apathy of their respectively societies. E.E. Cummings’ “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” is perfect example of how individualism is viewed in a conformist society, as well as sheds light on the poet’s own views of conformity. Although conforming to social norms is how…

Know a man in the early 1900’s known for his poems written with incorrect spelling and punctuation? Then you would be thinking about E. E. Cummings! E. E. Cummings was birthed upon the world as Edward Estlin Cummings in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1894. He developed a unique style of writing at an early age, being influenced by both Impressionism and Cubism, and grew up to study at Harvard University. The poet would become a famous writer, but while he was alive, his work was mostly left…