Japanese Poster Prints:- Past

In the 1850’s Japan began to open its boarders for trade for the first time since the 1600’s bringing with them many new and exotic items but also a new method of printing known as the Ukiyo –e which means ‘pictures of the floating word’. To most people it was called Japanese Poster Print.

The style of art that was exported from japan has inspired the art of many famous western artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. The Ukiyo-e print were achieved by carving out elegant designs  into blocks of wood then using bright colours and pushing them against a surface. These final designs were used in restaurants, theatres and to advertise local performances.

                                     This is an example of the wooden blocks used in printing

The above image is an example of the wooden blocks used for the print the designs very intricate and delicate and upon transfer show a unique and interesting image that grabs the eye.  Japanese Poster Prints influence shows in many artists work an example of this would be Vincent Van Gogh whose art is known throughout the world.

                                       ‘Wheat Field With Crows’ by Vincent Van Gogh 1890

His work shows that he has drawn influence from the printing style and that he has adapted it into his own unique painting style, The Printing method wasn’t just used for advertising it was also used for artists to create interesting pieces.

This image is called Hakone by Hiroshige Ando 1797

The piece above shows how the style uses bold colours and interesting shades this is a prime example of how the style is used for art and not just advertising however when used in advertising the images were just as extravogant for example this pice by Utagawa Kunisada this pice is an advert for a theatrical perfomance and is equally as detailed as the image above which shows how versitile the art style is.

This image was created by Utagawa Kunisada 1853

There is one iconic piece of Ukiyo-e art that is known and recognized world wide and that is 'The Great Wave' by  Fugaku Sanjuokkei which was created between 1830 and 1833, this piece has been one of the most successful of its type as it is included in media still to this date in a variety of different means.

This image is an iconic example of Japanese print called 'The Great Wave' by artist Fugaku Sanjuokkei between 1830 and 1833

As this style travelled to the west it brought about many changes in how the western market created prints. Another western artist that benefited from this new style was  Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, his artwork shows a strong link to Ukiyo-e. The image below is one of his pieces it is laid out almost exactly the same as a Ukiyo-e piece and uses the same colour palettes however it still has a western quirk in the way that it has been drawn.

This painting is called 'Yvett Guilbert'  by Henri Deo Tulouse-Lautrec  in 1894 

Towards the 1900's people were becoming less interested in the Ukiyo-e art style and more interested in the people who had drawn inspiration from it, artists such as  Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet these were the people whose art would be spoken about for generations to come. This kept the art style alive through their new art styles. This is unusual because the original form has become less popular that the people who had copied it become more of an original than the original.

This piece by Monet called 'Poppy Feild, Argentuil' and was created in 18 75

As time passed and newer methods of printing became available the Ukiyo-e method started to fade out however it didn't truly fade out. The style still lived on but in different ways the style was now being done in different media, when computers came around and programs such as Adobe Photoshop became available the style made a comeback.

Adobe CS4 box for the program Photoshop

Once Photoshop was around the traditional means for creating the Ukiyo-e prints was gone and replaced by technology. In my opinion this is a shame as the tradition method has that bit more care and attention to detail whereas now some could create one of this images in half the time with the advancements in technology.