Ever wonder what the favorite colors were of Japanese Woodblock artists? Well, for a while there, it did seem like it was Prussian blue, especially for Katsushika Hokusai – the ukiyo-e artist whom we’ve most fondly known for his Great Wave Off Kanagawa. You might have known this, or you might not, but the Great …
Ukiyo-e – pictures of the floating world. What made them so popular, apart from Japan opening up its borders to the west, of course? The color! Oh, how the reds flow right into the greens and the browns lining the greys. The color explosion that each Japanese woodblock piece has is like no other. And …
“If you study Japanese art you see a man who is undoubtedly wise, philosophic and intelligent, who spends his time how? In studying the distance between the earth and the moon? No. In studying the policy of Bismarck? No. He studies a single blade of grass. But this blade of grass leads him to draw …
What time is it? It’s Halloween time! Creepy ghost stories, skeletons lurking over your heads, a whisper in the corner of your house – all of that is right around the corner! And we’re not the only ones who love a good horror story. Yes my friends, when it comes to a story that would …
Washi – a term that literally means ‘Japanese paper’ refers to the paper that’s extremely important to Japanese woodblock art. While you could do Japanese woodblock art on absolutely any paper, you might encounter several obstacles when attempting to do so on every other paper [2]. Some such problems might be that the ink bleeds …
In the early 1850s, Japan opened its borders to trade with the rest of the world, ending 200-year-long seclusion. And that’s when Japanese goods and art, especially Ukiyo-e or Japanese woodblock art began to flow into places like Paris, the US, London, etc, inspiring Western Impressionist artists to transition to a more Japanese style of …
Shunga – Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period – Great Pleasure in Edo A sub-category of Japanese ukiyo-e “Japanese woodblock prints”, is shunga, literally meaning “spring pictures” – a euphemism for sex. Extremely popular among the public during the Edo period, shunga depicts sexual imagery of all sorts – sex between a man and woman, …
from Le Japon Artistique (Artistic Japan) by VICTOR CHAMPIER. Originally published in the late 1800s. Introduction: When studying woodblock prints from the 19th century, one gets a feel as if they are taking a walk through Old Japan. A place almost forgotten in today’s modern world in time and space. Japanese Architecture is apparent in …
A SPECIAL BLOG ENTRY & SERIES FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTISTIC JAPAN PUBLICATION – LE JAPON ARTISTIQUE JAPANESE AS DECORATORS by LOUIS GONSE. I have elsewhere expressed my opinion on the artistic genius of the Japanese, and have said plainly that they are the greatest decorators in the world. This very decided verdict requires explanation and …
An image representing how the Shin-hange movement continues, even today at a new exhibition upcoming in Brussels Shin – ‘new’ and hanga – ‘prints’. Literally meaning the ‘new prints’ the Japanese Shin-hanga art movement came around in early 20th century Japan when classical ukiyo-e prints of the 17th to 19th century, pioneered by the famous …
Shin-Hanga – How East Meets West in Japanese Art Read More »
Why collect Japanese woodblock prints? You probably thought that to yourself as you opened our website. Well to answer that, the bigger question would be, why do we collect anything at all? We all have our little collections of something after all, don’t we? Books, pretty pens, oil paintings, etc., etc. We collect them because …
Why are Japanese Woodblock Prints so Collectible and Valuable? Read More »
Bijin okubi-e “large-headed pictures of beautiful women”. Born for the art and died for it – born as Kitagawa Ichitaro in 1752, Utamaro was one of the Japanese Ukiyo-e artists who is known for bringing about a category of woodblock art known as Bijin okubi-e “large-headed pictures of beautiful women”. As you probably figured by …
Ukiyo-e, or the floating world pieces, are Japanese art genres that involve woodblock art. Unique in its form and the process of its creation, Ukiyo-e first surfaced outside Japan in the 17th century and influenced how art was created all across the globe. In fact, even the crude impressionists of the West began to incorporate …
The Floating World of Ukiyo-e: 10 Woodblock Art Masterpieces You Should Never Miss Read More »
