Module 11: Japanese Art 1400-1900, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism

ukiyo-e prints

“pictures of the floating world”

cheap popular art form during the Edo period from 1615-1868

mostly comissioned by the government

japanese colored woodblock prints

growth in the wealth of the merchant class resulted in the pleasure centers for entertainment

what us the keyblock?

the wooden block with the carved negative image on it

Hokusai

Under the Wave of Kanagawa (The Great Wave) 1830-32

despite being created at a time when japanese trade was heavily restricted, the painting displays the influence of dutch art.

part of a series of prints called thirty six views of Mt. Fuji

focused on the daily life of japanses people of different social levels

historical context of The Great Wave

Beginning in 1640, Japan was largely closed off to the world and only limited interaction with China and Holland was allowed. This changed in the 1850s, when trade was forced open by American naval commodore, Matthew C. Perry. After this, there was a flood of Japanese visual culture into the West

inspired many future impressionist arts in the west and europe such as Claude monet

characteristics of Japanese art

flattening of space, an interest in atmospheric conditions, and the impermanence of modern city life

japonisme

refers to the fashion for Japanese art in the West and the Japanese influence on Western art and design following the opening of formerly isolated Japan to world trade in 1853.

James Mcneil Whistler

Caprice in Purple and Gold

Siegfried Bing

one of the earliest importers of Japanese decorative arts in Paris. He sold them in his shop La Porte Chinoise, as well as promoting them in his lavish magazine Le Japon Artistique, published from 1888-1891.

Edouard Manet

Emilie Zola 1868

the impressionist style is drawn from japanese style and depictions of japanese woodblocks show the late 19th century fascination with Japanese art and decoration

Claude Monet

Water Lillies and Japanese Bridge 1899

inspired by japanese gardens and an japanese style wooden bridge

Mary Cassatt

The Letter

employs similar japanese deocrative patterns, flattenend spaces, and simplified figures

Cassatt enjoyed common Ukiyo-e subjects like women in domestic interiors playing with children or grooming themselves

Edgar Degas

The Tub

cassatts frienc

common japanese style of compostion where the vantage point emphasizies the flatness of the shapes of the woman’s body and surroudigns objects

What is the idea behind ukiyo-e art?

To create the transitory and fleeting nature of life

What political conditions allowed for the ukiyo-e art form to emerge?

The shogunate was formed and created political stability

impressionist artists

Claude Monet, August Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley (and several others)

what did the group of impressionist painters call themsleves when they held their first exhbitiion?

the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Printmakers

held their first show in may 1874

what was the major criticism of impressionist paintings?

looked like unfinished sketches, fast and preliminary “impressions” that artists would dash off to preserve an idea of what to paint more carefully at a later date.

how did impressionists (and realists) challenge the staus quo of the time?

the held their own exhibtions in spite of the heavily critical Salon

they also challenged the Academy’s idea of accpetable or “goof” subject matter, namely that landscape and genre scenes were just as worthy as history paintings

characteristics of impressionism

tried to arrest a particular moment in time by pinpointing specific atmospheric conditions—light flickering on water, moving clouds, a burst of rain.

optical blending of colors

the appearance of quickly shifting light on the surface of forms and the representation changing atmospheric conditions

create an art that was modern by capturing the rapid pace of contemporary life and the fleeting conditions of light. 

impressionists…

painted directly on a white surface

wanted to capture a fleeting moment in time

uses short loose brushstrokes to effectively capture the effects of light and color

“Mixed” colors by juxtaposing them on the canvas