As we spoke last time the possibility to explore is one of the reasons why we do spend our time and energy on photography.
I visited an interesting exhibition “The Golden Age of Japanese Graphic Arts”.
This exhibition could become the counterweight for the rush of nowadays.
I took photos of the amazing woodblock prints, paintings and porcelain dolls. And then I was engaged in research on the art of the Edo period (thanks to photography).
The graphic arts of the Edo period (17-19 centuries) is called “ukiyo-e” (“pictures of the floating, ephemeral world”).
“Ukiyo-e” captured the life of the citizens and scenes from history, kabuki actors and the beauty of famous geishas, landscapes and flora.
Woodblock prints, paintings and drawings were not mere imitations of life and nature, but the graphic expression of philosophy.
With the advent of photography the “ukiyo-e” art became a thing of the past.
Stunningly beautiful artworks of the Edo period have no analogues in the world.
People admire the masterpieces by Katsushika Hokusai, AndÅ Hiroshige, Utagawa Kunisada, Kitagawa Utamaro and other artists. We have stopped to notice the simple and beautiful things in our lives. And the “ukiyo-e” art helps us to cognize them again.
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| Utagawa Kunisada |
Ukiyo-e with its black outlines and decorative patterns, flat figures, silhouettes and vibrant bright colors had a great influence on such painters as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Hokusai was one of the most highly valued artists of his time and proved to be greatly influential, in Japan as well as in the West.
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| Katsushika Hokusai |
As Jason Farago wrote, “Without Hokusai, there might have been no Impressionism – and the global art world we today take for granted might look very different indeed”.
It was an interesting research for me. Hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Thank you for reading!
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