Check out these beautiful Japanese Ukiyo-e prints on Amazon.To the casual observer, Ikebana, pronounced ē., is often thought of as the Japanese counterpart of flower arranging. The modern masters of painting, architecture and design fully embraced these “Oriental” concepts.Īs an Amazon Associate I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase. The Japanese woodblock prints introduced the concepts of flat planes of color, asymmetrical compositions, unconventional poses, and everyday scenes into art. This Japanese art form had a huge influence on the Impressionism, Post-Impressionism & the Nouveau art movements. Some art scholars believe that Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and in particular, the Japanese print-maker, Hokusai, as the “father” of modern Western art. What is Japonisme? How were Ukiyo-e Artworks a Major Influence on Impressionism & Modern Western Art? The flattening effect became predominant feature in modern art painting. Their paintings merged bright patterns of contrasting colors, often creating flat planes similar to woodblock prints. The painters studied Japanese woodblock prints and started experimenting themselves with new ideas of perspective. Kotozuka Eiichi: Sanjo Bridge – Japanese art prints Giverny – Monet Painting of his Japanese Bridge He placed an iconic Japanese bridge over his water-lily pond.

In addition to influencing his painting, Monet also incorporated this exotic art form when designing his beautiful garden in Giverny. Ukiyo-e Art & It’s Influence on Claude MonetĬlaude Monet loved this art so much that he owned an impressive collection of woodblock prints, most of which still hang in his Giverny home today.

Artists such as Manet, Pierre Bonnard, Gustave Caillebotte, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin & others were incorporating ukiyo-e elements in their own paintings. Soon enough, this exotic Japanese art form became familiar and used in the Parisian artistic scene. It also gave the impressionists and post-impressionists an understanding of the beauty of a “flat” appearance in artwork. Ukiyo-e art also influenced the Impressionists to focus on the subject only and to eliminate excessive details and complicated backgrounds from their paintings. The simple woodblock prints reaffirmed to the impressionist painters that they could portray scenes from everyday life without concern for detail or accuracy of the painting, but simply for the beauty of the painting itself. Ukiyo-e contributed to the development of Western art and in particular to the Impressionism art movement. He discovered a set of sketches of the Japanese artist Hokusai and was soon praising these sketches to his artistic friends in Paris. Felix Bracquemond (the husband of the French Impressionist Marie Bracqumond) was one of the first artists to fully appreciate this Eastern art. To the eyes of the Westerner, ukiyo-e art epitomized the exotic Japanese tradition. Japonisme referred to the new European art movement that arose from Asian and especially Japanese art. In the 1870s a term Japonisme was coined. In particular, the Japanese woodblock prints by masters of the ukiyo-e movement appealed to many painters. The art world in Europe felt inspired by the Asian teachings and art. A flood of Japanese imports entered the European markets exposing artists to the philosophies and artistic practices of Eastern countries. Up until then, Japan and its culture was isolated and unknown to the Western world. In 1854 a treaty was signed between Japan and the US. These prints were usually flat in appearance, lacking depth. Japanese woodblock art was not meant to portray real life but rather the artist’s viewpoint without too much detail.

Takahashi Hiroaki – Cherry Blossom at Riverside – Japanese art print Īs such, Ukiyo-e prints usually depicted scenes of world pleasures of the wealthy, like gorgeous courtesans, kabuki actors, stunning scenery and what was fashionable in those times.

Japanese living art form