An Introduction to Ukiyo-e

Description: A book dedicated to Japanese painting from the 17th-18th centuries, published with the support of the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Tokyo. I really liked that it is a bilingual edition (English and Japanese), which makes reading more attractive and authentic. I don’t think there is any point in specifying more, the quality is impeccable! Starting from Hishikawa Moronobu (considered the innovator of prints, in black ink, in the second half of the 17th century), to Suzuki Harunobu (1724-1770, who introduced polychrome to prints – nishiki-e, with paintings mainly depicting beautiful women, in the spirit of his time), Kitagawa Utamaro (?-1806, also portraits of women, especially from the pleasure district, Yoshiwara in Edo), the mysterious Toshusai Sharaku (attracted to Kabuki artists), Utagawa Toyokuni (who took up the interest in actors and trained two other great painters within the Utagawa school – Kunisada and Kuniyoshi), the well-known Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849, I wrote more about him in another post, but here I learned that his daughter, Oi, also painted, very beautifully!), Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858, the master of landscapes), Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861, known for his warrior prints). In the production process, there were several relevant players, not just the artist. The relationship involved several flows, but the short route was: publisher – artist – sculptor – carver, I don’t know what the most appropriate translation for this role would be, but from my perspective it was the hardest!! – printer. Then it goes back to the publisher and moves on to the sales phase. For each color, a wooden plate was made, with all the details! The process seems dizzyingly complex to me…

Year: 2023

MyRating (1-5): *****