Japanese Woodblock Prints
Japanese artists have produce some outstanding work through the years, from statues to beautiful architecture. Out of all the refined traditional art of Japan, the Japanese woodblock prints are probably the most widely known work. Woodblock printing was used in China for centuries for printing books, but it was adopted in Japan during the Edo period. During this period the prints represented mostly sexual workers of that time period. With time their subject changed and these pictures were made in large quantities and highlighted popular events that appealed in particular to the wealthy townspeople of the period. Their vivid yet elegant compositions are very eye catching until these days, just as they were when they …show more content…
The Japanese would undoubtedly have already seen Chinese prints and would probably have experimented with the technique themselves, or they may have picked it up directly from the refugees. The most interesting aspect of the relationship between Chinese and Japanese woodblock is how differently it developed. In China it was seen primarily as a way of copying paintings and reproducing them for mass production. The aim was to make a print look as much like a painting as possible. There was less scope for the individual expression of the artist or the craftsman. In Japan the technique was allowed to flourish in its own right. The artists recognized its potential and worked it in a way that the strengths of this technique would be exploited. Painting, poetry and calligraphy were emotional expressions of the moment rather than faithful depictions of the surroundings. This way of working extended to the printing technique which recorded them and a whole world of respected craftsmanship developed as a …show more content…
During the Kansei era the Ukiyo-e genre of the woodblock prints had a focus on balance and beauty that subsided into disharmony and degeneracy when the reform broke in the next century, finishing in the Menji Restoration of 1868. Sharaku‘s work is one of the best known of Ukiyo-e, but he appeared in 1794 very suddenly for ten months for then disappearing at the beginning of 1795. He introduced a large level of realism in his work, this way now a days we can have an idea of how people from that period of time looked alike. Different from artists such as Utamaro or Harunobu, his work shows very expressive faces while the other artists portrait people with more serene faces. What marked the late 18th century as the highest point for woodblock prints in Japan was the consistent great level of quality for every work. Other outstanding artists from that era are overshadowed by Shakaru’s work. Chobunsai Eishi brought an elegant sense to his portraits of young sexual workers. Eishi quitted his position as a painter for Shogun Tokugawa leharu to follow the Ukiyo-e
Japanese artists have produce some outstanding work through the years, from statues to beautiful architecture. Out of all the refined traditional art of Japan, the Japanese woodblock prints are probably the most widely known work. Woodblock printing was used in China for centuries for printing books, but it was adopted in Japan during the Edo period. During this period the prints represented mostly sexual workers of that time period. With time their subject changed and these pictures were made in large quantities and highlighted popular events that appealed in particular to the wealthy townspeople of the period. Their vivid yet elegant compositions are very eye catching until these days, just as they were when they …show more content…
The Japanese would undoubtedly have already seen Chinese prints and would probably have experimented with the technique themselves, or they may have picked it up directly from the refugees. The most interesting aspect of the relationship between Chinese and Japanese woodblock is how differently it developed. In China it was seen primarily as a way of copying paintings and reproducing them for mass production. The aim was to make a print look as much like a painting as possible. There was less scope for the individual expression of the artist or the craftsman. In Japan the technique was allowed to flourish in its own right. The artists recognized its potential and worked it in a way that the strengths of this technique would be exploited. Painting, poetry and calligraphy were emotional expressions of the moment rather than faithful depictions of the surroundings. This way of working extended to the printing technique which recorded them and a whole world of respected craftsmanship developed as a …show more content…
During the Kansei era the Ukiyo-e genre of the woodblock prints had a focus on balance and beauty that subsided into disharmony and degeneracy when the reform broke in the next century, finishing in the Menji Restoration of 1868. Sharaku‘s work is one of the best known of Ukiyo-e, but he appeared in 1794 very suddenly for ten months for then disappearing at the beginning of 1795. He introduced a large level of realism in his work, this way now a days we can have an idea of how people from that period of time looked alike. Different from artists such as Utamaro or Harunobu, his work shows very expressive faces while the other artists portrait people with more serene faces. What marked the late 18th century as the highest point for woodblock prints in Japan was the consistent great level of quality for every work. Other outstanding artists from that era are overshadowed by Shakaru’s work. Chobunsai Eishi brought an elegant sense to his portraits of young sexual workers. Eishi quitted his position as a painter for Shogun Tokugawa leharu to follow the Ukiyo-e