UKIYO-E
Japanese prints
An art form born in the Edo period (1603-1867) among common people. There are hand-painted and woodblock printing. Because of the development of technique of woodblock printing, mass-production was realized and which diffused prints among common people. It’s a collaboration between painter, engraver and printer.
The subject ranges widely, scene from kabuki (which was popular as amusement among common people), landscape, beautiful women, historic legend, samurai, genre painting, shunga (erotic picture) etc.
Milieu du 18e siècle, Torii Kiyotsune
vers 1790, Chobunsai Eishi
1804-17, Katsushika Hokusai
vers 1850, Utagawa Hiroshige
1843-47, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
1847-51, Utagawa Kunimasa
1865, Utagawa Kunisada II
1857, Utagawa Kunisada II
There are many more prints available at the gallery.
There were many ukiyo-e artists and they formed their schools. Particularly Hokusai and Hiroshige who are known well for their landscape picture, and Utamaro for beautiful woman’s picture, and Sharaku and Toyokuni for kabuki actor picture. The Utagawa School to which Toyokuni and Hiroshige belonged was the largest group having about 200 ukiyo-e artists. In our gallery many prints from the (Utagawa) school are exposited.
In the latter half of the 19th century, numerous ukiyo-e ( Japanese prints) came to Europe. Ukiyo-e caused an art movement called Japonisme in France. Impressionist artists were fascinated with ukiyo-e and learned from them, and established the style of Impressionist painting. At that time, old Tanguy displayed ukiyo-e prints in his shop, and it is said that, where impressionist artists like Van Gogh or Gauguin had discussions on art.