Monochrome painting of Japan is one of the unique phenomena of the art of the East. A lot of works and studies are devoted to it, but it is often perceived as a very conditional thing, and sometimes even decorative. This is not so. The spiritual world of the Japanese artist is very rich, and he cares not so much about the aesthetic component, but about the spiritual one. Art of the East is a synthesis of external and internal, explicit and implicit.
In this post, I would like to pay attention not to the history of monochrome painting, but to its essence. This will be discussed.
Screen "Pine" Hasegawa Tohaku, 1593.
What we see in monochrome paintings is the result of the artist's interaction with the pine triad: paper, brush, ink. Therefore, in order to properly understand the work, one must understand the artist himself and his attitude.
"Landscape" Sesshu, 1398
Paper not easy for a Japanese master improvised material, which he subordinates to his whim, but rather, on the contrary, is a “brother”, therefore, the attitude towards her has developed accordingly. Paper is a part of the surrounding nature, which the Japanese have always treated with reverence and tried not to subjugate, but to coexist peacefully with it. Paper is in the past a tree that stood in a certain area, for a certain time, “saw” something around it, and it stores it all. This is how the Japanese artist perceives the material. Often, before starting work, the masters looked at a blank sheet for a long time (contemplated it) and only then proceeded to painting. Even today, contemporary Japanese artists who practice Nihon-ga (traditional Japanese painting) carefully choose their paper. They buy it on order from paper mills. For each artist of a certain thickness, moisture permeability and texture (many artists even enter into an agreement with the owner of the factory not to sell this paper to other artists) - therefore, each painting is perceived as something unique and alive.
"Reading in a bamboo grove" Shubun, 1446.
Speaking about the significance of this material, it is worth mentioning such famous monuments Japanese literature such as Sei Shonagon's "Notes at the Headboard" and Murasaki Shikibu's "Genji Monogotari": in both "Notes" and "Genji" you can find scenes when courtiers or lovers exchange messages. The paper on which these messages were written was of the appropriate season, shade, and the manner of writing the text corresponded to its texture.
"Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyama Shrine" Kyosen
Brush- the second component is the continuation of the master's hand (again, this is natural material). Therefore, brushes were also made to order, but most often by the artist himself. He selected the hairs of the required length, chose the size of the brush and the most comfortable handle. The master writes only with his own brush and no other. (From personal experience: was at the master class of the Chinese artist Jiang Shilun, the audience was asked to show what his students who were present at the master class can do, and each of them, picking up the master’s brush, said that it would turn out not what they expected, since the brush not them, they are not used to it and do not know how to use it correctly).
"Fuji" ink sketch by Katsushika Hokusai
ink is the third important element. Mascara can be of different types: it can give a glossy or matte effect after drying, it can be mixed with silver or ocher shades, therefore right choice mascara is also not unimportant.
Yamamoto Baitsu, late 18th- XIX century.
The main subjects of monochrome painting are landscapes. Why don't they have color?
Twin screen "Pines", Hasegawa Tohaku
Firstly, the Japanese artist is not interested in the object itself, but in its essence, a certain component that is common to all living things and leads to harmony between man and nature. Therefore, the image is always a hint, it is addressed to our feelings, and not to vision. Understatement is a stimulus for dialogue, and hence connection. Lines and spots are important in the image - they form artistic language. This is not the liberty of the master, who, where he wanted, left a greasy mark there, and in another place, on the contrary, did not draw well - in the picture everything has its own meaning and significance, and does not carry a random character.
Secondly, color always carries some kind of emotional connotation and is perceived differently by different people in different states, so emotional neutrality allows the viewer to most adequately enter into a dialogue, position him for perception, contemplation, thought.
Thirdly, this is the interaction of yin and yang, any monochrome picture is harmonious in terms of the ratio of ink and the untouched area of paper in it.
Why most of paper space is not used?
"Landscape" by Syubun, mid-15th century.
First, the vacancy of space immerses the viewer in the image; secondly, the image is created as if it floated to the surface for a moment and is about to disappear - this is connected with the worldview and worldview; thirdly, in those areas where there is no ink, the texture and shade of paper come to the fore (this is not always visible on reproductions, but in reality it is always the interaction of two materials - paper and ink).
Sesshu, 1446
Why landscape?
"Contemplation of the Waterfall" Gayami, 1478
According to the Japanese worldview, nature is more perfect than man, so he must learn from her, protect her in every possible way, and not destroy or subjugate. Therefore, in many landscapes you can see small images of people, but they are always insignificant, small in relation to the landscape itself, or images of huts that fit into the space around them and are not even always noticeable - these are all symbols of the worldview.
"Seasons: Autumn and Winter" Sesshu. "Landscape" Sesshu, 1481
In conclusion, I want to say that Japanese monochrome painting is not randomly splashed ink, it is not a whim of the artist's inner ego - it is a whole system of images and symbols, it is a repository of philosophical thought, and most importantly, a way of communication and harmonization of oneself and the world around.
Here, I think, are the answers to the main questions that the viewer has when confronted with monochrome Japanese painting. I hope they will help you to understand it most correctly and perceive it when you meet.
Yayoi Kusama is unlikely to be able to answer what formed the basis of her career as an artist. She is 87 years old, her art is recognized all over the world. Major exhibitions of her work will soon be held in the US and Japan, but she hasn't told the world everything yet. “It's still on the way. I'm going to create this in the future," says Kusama. She is called the most successful artist in Japan. In addition, she is the most expensive living artist: in 2014, her painting "White No. 28" was sold for $7.1 million.
Kusama lives in Tokyo and has been voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital for almost forty years. Once a day she leaves her walls to paint. She gets up at three o'clock in the morning, unable to sleep and wanting to make good use of her time at work. “Now I'm old, but I'm still going to create more work and better work. More than I have done in the past. My mind is full of pictures,” she says.
(Total 17 photos)
Yayoi Kusama at an exhibition of his work in London in 1985. Photo: NILS JORGENSEN/REX/Shutterstock
From nine to six, Kusama works in his three-story studio without getting up from wheelchair. She can walk but is too weak. A woman works on a canvas laid out on tables or fixed on the floor. The studio is full of new paintings, bright works strewn with small specks. The artist calls this "self-silencing" - endless repetition that drowns out the noise in her head.
Before the 2006 Praemium Imperiale Art Awards in Tokyo. Photo: Sutton-Hibbert/REX/Shutterstock
A new gallery is about to open across the street, and another museum of her art is under construction north of Tokyo. In addition, two major exhibitions of her work are opening. Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Mirrors, a retrospective of her 65-year career, opened at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington on February 23 and runs until May 14, after which it will travel to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto and Cleveland. The exposition includes 60 paintings by Kusama.
Her peas cover everything from Louis Vuitton dresses to buses in her hometown. Kusama's work is regularly sold for millions of dollars and is found all over the world - from New York to Amsterdam. Exhibitions of works Japanese artist so popular that measures are required to prevent stampede and disorder. For example, in the Hirschhorn exhibition tickets are sold for a certain time in order to somehow regulate the flow of visitors.
Presentation of the joint design of Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama in New York in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
But Kusama still needs outside approval. When asked in an interview about whether she achieved her goal of becoming rich and famous decades ago, she said in surprise: “When I was little, it was very difficult for me to convince my mother that I wanted to become an artist. Is it really true that I'm rich and famous?"
Kusama was born in Matsumoto, in the mountains of Central Japan, in 1929 to a wealthy and conservative family that sold seedlings. But it was not a happy home. Her mother despised her cheating husband and sent little Kusama to spy on him. The girl saw her father with other women, and this caused in her a lifelong aversion to sex.
Louis Vuitton shop window designed by Kusama in 2012. Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFA/REX/Shutterstock
As a child, she began to experience visual and auditory hallucinations. The first time she saw a pumpkin, she imagined it was talking to her. The future artist coped with visions by creating repeating patterns to drown out the thoughts in her head. Even at such a young age, art became a kind of therapy for her, which she would later call "art medicine."
Yayoi Kusama's work on display at the Museum contemporary art Whitney in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
Kusama's mother was strongly opposed to her daughter's desire to become an artist and insisted that the girl follow the traditional path. “She wouldn’t let me draw. She wanted me to get married,” the artist said in an interview. She threw away my work. I wanted to throw myself under a train. Every day I fought with my mother, and therefore my mind was damaged.
In 1948, after the end of the war, Kusama went to Kyoto to study traditional Japanese painting nihonga with strict rules. She hated this art form.
One of the exhibits of Yayoi Kusama's exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
When Kusama lived in Matsumoto, she found a book by Georgia O'Keeffe and was amazed by her paintings. The girl went to the American embassy in Tokyo to find an article about O'Keeffe in the directory and find out her address. Kusama wrote her a letter and sent some drawings, and to her surprise, American artist answered her.
“I couldn't believe my luck! She was so kind that she responded to the sudden outburst of feelings of a modest japanese girls, whom she had never met or even heard of in her life,” the artist wrote in her autobiography, Infinity Net.
Yayoi Kusama in a window she designed for Louis Vuitton in New York in 2012. Photo: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock
Despite O'Keeffe's warnings that young artists in the US are having a hard time, not to mention young single girls from Japan, Kusama was unstoppable. In 1957, she managed to get a passport and a visa. She sewed dollars into her dresses to get around strict post-war foreign exchange controls.
The first stop was Seattle, where she held an exhibition in a small gallery. Then Kusama went to New York, where she was bitterly disappointed. “Unlike the post-war Matsumoto, New York was in every way an evil and violent place. For me, it was too stressful, and I soon became mired in neurosis. To make matters worse, Kusama ended up in total poverty. She used an old door as a bed, and fished fish heads and rotten vegetables out of trash cans to make soup from.
Installation Infinity Mirror Room - Love Forever ("Room with mirrors of infinity - love forever"). Photo: Tony Kyriacou/REX/Shutterstock
This difficult situation prompted Kusama to immerse himself even more in his work. She began to create her first paintings in the Infinity Web series, covering huge canvases (one of them reached 10 meters high) with mesmerizing waves of small loops that seemed to never end. The artist herself described them as follows: “White nets enveloping the black dots of silent death against the backdrop of the hopeless darkness of nothingness.”
Installation by Yayoi Kusama at the opening of the new building of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture in Moscow in 2015. Photo: David X Prutting/BFA.com/REX/Shutterstock
This obsessive-compulsive repetition helped to drive away the neurosis, but it did not always save. Kusama constantly suffered from bouts of psychosis and ended up in a New York hospital. Ambitious and determined, and happily taking on the role of an exotic Asian in a kimono, she joined the crowd influential people in art and interacted with such recognized artists as Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol. Kusama later said that Warhol imitated her work.
Kusama soon gained a certain degree of fame and exhibited in crowded galleries. In addition, the fame of the artist has become scandalous.
In the 1960s, when Kusama was obsessed with polka dots, she began to arrange happenings in New York: she provoked people to strip naked in places like Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, and painted their bodies with polka dots.
Preview on Exhibition Art Basel in Hong Kong in 2013. Photo: Billy Farrell/BFA/REX/Shutterstock
Decades before the emergence of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Kusama staged a happening in New York's financial district, saying she wanted to "destroy the men of Wall Street with polka dots." Around the same time, she began to cover various objects - a chair, a boat, a carriage - with phallic-looking bulges. “I started making penises to cure my sex aversion,” the artist wrote, describing how this creative process gradually turned the terrible into something familiar.
Passing Winter installation at the Tate Gallery in London. Photo: James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock
Kusama has never been married, although while living in New York she had a marriage-like relationship with artist Joseph Cornell for ten years. “I didn’t like sex, and he was impotent, so we were very good for each other,” she said in an interview with Art Magazine.
Kusama became increasingly famous for her antics: she offered to sleep with U.S. President Richard Nixon if he ended the Vietnam War. "Let's decorate each other with polka dots," she wrote to him in a letter. Interest directly in her art faded, she fell out of favor, and money problems began again.
Yayoi Kusama during a retrospective of her work at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2012. Photo: Steve Eichner/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock
News of Kusama's escapades reached Japan. She began to be called a "national disaster", and her mother said that it would be better if her daughter had died of an illness in childhood. In the early 1970s, impoverished and fiasco Kusama returned to Japan. She was registered in a psychiatric hospital, where she still lives, and sunk into artistic obscurity.
In 1989, the Center for Contemporary Art in New York hosted a retrospective of her work. This was the beginning of a slow, but revival of interest in the art of Kusama. She filled a mirror room with pumpkins for an installation that was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1993, and in 1998 had a major exhibition at the MoMa Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was here that she once arranged a happening.
At the My Eternal Soul exhibition in National Center art in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
In the past few years, Yayoi Kusama has become an international phenomenon. The contemporary Tate Gallery in London and the Whitney Museum in New York have held major retrospectives that have drawn huge crowds and made her iconic polka dot pattern very recognizable.
At the My Eternal Soul exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
The artist is not going to stop working, but she began to think about her mortality. “I don't know how long I can survive even after death. There is a future generation that follows in my footsteps. It will be an honor for me if people enjoy looking at my work and if they are moved by my art.”
At the My Eternal Soul exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
Despite the commercialization of her art, Kusama thinks about the grave in Matsumoto - not in the family vault, she already inherited from her parents - and how not to turn it into a shrine. “But I'm not dying yet. I think I will live another 20 years,” she says.
At the My Eternal Soul exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
Hello, dear readers - seekers of knowledge and truth!
Japanese artists are different unique style honed by generations of craftsmen. Today we will talk about the brightest representatives of Japanese painting and their paintings, from ancient times to modern times.
Well, let's plunge into the art of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The birth of art
The ancient art of painting in Japan is primarily associated with the peculiarities of writing and therefore is based on the basics of calligraphy. The first examples include fragments of bronze bells, dishes, and household items found during excavations. Many of them were painted natural paints, and studies give reason to believe that the products were made earlier than 300 BC.
A new stage in the development of art began with the arrival in Japan. On emakimono - special paper scrolls - images of the deities of the Buddhist pantheon, scenes from the life of the Teacher and his followers were applied.
The predominance of religious themes in painting can be traced in medieval Japan, namely from the 10th to the 15th centuries. The names of the artists of that era to this day, alas, have not been preserved.
In the period of the 15th-18th centuries, a new time begins, characterized by the appearance of artists with a developed individual style. They labeled the vector further development visual arts.
Bright representatives of the past
Tense Shubun (early 15th century)
In order to become an outstanding master, Xubong studied Chinese Sung artists' writing techniques and their work. Subsequently, he became one of the founders of painting in Japan and the creator of sumi-e.
Sumi-e - art style, which is based on ink drawing, which means one color.
Shubun did a lot to a new style took root in artistic circles. He taught art to other talents, including future famous painters like Sesshu.
The most popular painting The Shubun is called "Reading in the Bamboo Grove".
"Reading in the Bamboo Grove" by Tense Shubun
Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610)
He became the creator of the school, named after himself - Hasegawa. At first, he tried to follow the canons of the Kano school, but gradually his individual “handwriting” began to be traced in his works. Tohaku was guided by Sesshu's graphics.
The basis of the work was simple, concise, but realistic landscapes with uncomplicated names:
- "Pines";
- "Maple";
- Pines and flowering plants.
Pines, Hasegawa Tohaku
Brothers Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)
The brothers were excellent craftsmen of the 18th century. The eldest, Ogata Korin, devoted himself entirely to painting and founded the rimpa genre. He avoided stereotypical images, preferring the impressionist genre.
Ogata Korin painted nature in general and flowers in the form of bright abstractions in particular. His brushes belong to the painting:
- "Plum blossom red and white";
- "Waves of Matsushima";
- "Chrysanthemums".
Waves of Matsushima by Korin Ogata
The younger brother - Ogata Kenzan - had many aliases. At least he was engaged in painting, but he was more famous as a wonderful ceramist.
Ogata Kenzan mastered many pottery techniques. He was distinguished by a non-standard approach, for example, he created plates in the form of a square.
Own painting was not distinguished by splendor - this was also its peculiarity. He liked to put calligraphy on products like a scroll or excerpts from poetry. Sometimes they worked together with their brother.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
He worked in the style of ukiyo-e - a kind of woodcut, in other words, engraving painting. For all the time of creativity, he changed about 30 names. famous work – « A big wave in Kanagawa ”, thanks to which he became famous outside his homeland.
"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai Katsushika
Especially hard Hokusai began to work after 60 years, which brought good results. Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir were familiar with his work, and to a certain extent it influenced the work of European masters.
Ando Hiroshige (1791-1858)
One of the greatest artists of the 19th century. Born, lived, worked in Edo, continued the work of Hokusai, was inspired by his work. The way he portrayed nature is almost as striking as the number of works themselves.
Edo - former name Tokyo.
Here are some figures about his work, which are represented by a cycle of paintings:
- 5.5 thousand - the number of all engravings;
- “100 Views of Edo;
- "36 Views of Fuji";
- "69 Kisokaido Stations";
- "53 Tokaido Stations".
Painting by Ando Hiroshige
Interestingly, the outstanding Van Gogh wrote a couple of copies of his engravings.
Modernity
Takashi Murakami
Painter, sculptor, fashion designer, he earned a name already at the end of the 20th century. In his work, he adheres to fashion trends with elements of the classics, and draws inspiration from anime and manga cartoons.
Painting by Takashi Murakami
The works of Takashi Murakami are classified as a subculture, but at the same time they are incredibly popular. For example, in 2008, one of his works was bought at auction for more than $15 million. At one time, the modern creator worked together with the fashion houses "Marc Jacobs" and "Louis Vuitton".
Tycho Asima
An associate of a previous artist, she creates contemporary surreal paintings. They depict views of cities, streets of megacities and creatures as if from another universe - ghosts, evil spirits, alien girls. In the background of the paintings you can often see the pristine, sometimes even frightening nature.
Her paintings reach large sizes and are rarely limited to paper. They are transferred to leather, plastic materials.
In 2006, as part of an exhibition in the British capital, a woman created about 20 arched structures that reflected the beauty of the nature of the village and the city, day and night. One of them decorated the subway station.
Hey Arakawa
The young man cannot be called just an artist in the classical sense of the word - he creates installations that are so popular in the art of the 21st century. The themes of his exhibitions are truly Japanese and touch upon friendly relations, as well as the work of the whole team.
Ei Arakawa often participates in various biennials, for example, in Venice, is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in his homeland, and deservedly receives various awards.
Ikenaga Yasunari
The modern painter Ikenaga Yasunari managed to combine two seemingly incompatible things: the life of today's girls in portrait form and traditional techniques Japan comes from ancient times. In his work, the painter uses special brushes, natural pigmented paints, ink, and charcoal. Instead of the usual linen - linen fabric.
Ikenaga Yasunari painting
A similar technique of contrasting the depicted era and appearance the heroines give the impression that they have returned to us from the past.
A series of paintings about the complexities of a crocodile's life, which has recently become popular in the Internet community, was also created by the Japanese cartoonist Keigo.
Conclusion
So, Japanese painting originated around the 3rd century BC, and has changed a lot since then. The first images were applied to ceramics, then Buddhist motifs began to prevail in the arts, but the names of the authors have not survived to this day.
In the era of the New Age, the masters of the brush acquired more and more individuality, created different directions, schools. Today's fine arts are not limited to traditional painting- installations, caricatures, art sculptures, special structures are used.
Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! We hope you found our article useful, and stories about life and work the brightest representatives arts made it possible to get to know them better.
Of course, it is difficult to tell in one article about all the artists from antiquity to the present. Therefore, let this be the first step towards the knowledge of Japanese painting.
And join us - subscribe to the blog - we will study Buddhism and the culture of the East together!
Which covers many techniques and styles. Throughout its history, it has undergone a large number of changes. New traditions and genres were added, and the original Japanese principles remained. Along with amazing story Japan painting is also ready to present many unique and interesting facts.
ancient japan
The first styles appear in the most ancient historical period of the country, even before Christ. e. Back then, art was pretty primitive. First, in 300 B.C. e., there were various geometric figures which were made on pottery with sticks. Such a find by archaeologists as an ornament on bronze bells belongs to a later time.
A little later, already in 300 AD. e., appear cave drawings which are much more varied. geometric ornament. These are already full-fledged images with images. They were found inside the crypts, and probably the people who are painted on them were buried in these burial grounds.
In the 7th century A.D. e. Japan adopts the script that comes from China. Around the same time, the first paintings come from there. Then painting appears as a separate sphere of art.
edo
Edo is far from the first and not the last painting, but it was she who brought a lot of new things to the culture. Firstly, it is the brightness and brilliance that were added to the familiar technique performed in black and white. gray tones. Sotasu is considered the most prominent artist of this style. He created classical paintings but his characters were very colorful. Later, he switched to nature, and most of the landscapes were done against a background of gilding.
Secondly, during the Edo period, the exotic, the namban genre, appeared. It used modern European and Chinese technicians that are intertwined with traditional Japanese styles.
And thirdly, the Nang school appears. In it, the artists first completely imitate or even copy the works of Chinese masters. Then a new branch appears, which is called bunjing.
Modernization period
The Edo period replaces the Meiji, and now Japanese painting is forced to enter the new stage development. At this time, genres such as the western and the like were becoming popular all over the world, so the modernization of art became a common state of affairs. However, in Japan, a country where all people revere traditions, in given time things were very different from what happened in other countries. Here, competition between European and local technicians flares up sharply.
The government at this stage gives its preference to young artists who serve big hopes to improve skills in Western styles. Therefore, they send them to schools in Europe and America.
But this was only at the beginning of the period. The fact is that notable critics pretty much criticized Western art. To avoid a lot of hype around this issue, European styles and techniques began to be banned at exhibitions, their display ceased, as did their popularity.
The emergence of European styles
Then comes the Taisho period. At this time, young artists who left to study in foreign schools come back to their homeland. Naturally, they bring with them new styles of Japanese painting, which are very similar to European ones. Impressionism and post-impressionism appear.
At this stage, many schools are being formed in which the ancient japanese styles. But it is not possible to completely get rid of Western tendencies. Therefore, it is necessary to combine several techniques in order to please both lovers of the classics and fans of modern European painting.
Some schools are funded by the state, thanks to which many of the national traditions are preserved. Private traders, on the other hand, are forced to follow the lead of consumers who want something new, they are tired of the classics.
WWII painting
After the onset of wartime, Japanese painting remained aloof from events for some time. It developed separately and independently. But it couldn't go on like this forever.
Over time, when the political situation in the country is getting worse, high and respected figures attract many artists. Some of them, even at the beginning of the war, begin to create in patriotic styles. The rest start this process only by order of the authorities.
Accordingly, Japanese fine arts during the Second World War were unable to develop especially. Therefore, for painting it can be called stagnant.
Eternal Suibokuga
Japanese sumi-e painting, or suibokuga, means "ink drawing". This defines the style and technique this art. It came from China, but the Japanese decided to give it their own name. And initially the technique did not have any aesthetic side. It was used by the monks for self-improvement while studying Zen. Moreover, at first they drew pictures, and later they trained their concentration while viewing them. The monks believed that strict lines, vague tones and shadows help improvement - all that is called monochrome.
Japanese ink painting, despite the wide variety of paintings and techniques, is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. It is based on only 4 plots:
- Chrysanthemum.
- Orchid.
- Plum branch.
- Bamboo.
A small number of plots does not make the development of technology fast. Some masters believe that learning lasts a lifetime.
Despite the fact that sumi-e appeared a long time ago, it is always in demand. Moreover, today you can meet the masters of this school not only in Japan, it is also widespread far beyond its borders.
Modern period
After the end of the Second World War, art in Japan flourished only in major cities, villagers and villagers had enough worries. For the most part, the artists tried to turn their backs on the losses of the war and depict modern urban life with all its embellishments and features on canvas. European and American ideas were successfully adopted, but this state of affairs did not last long. Many masters began to gradually move away from them towards Japanese schools.
It has always remained fashionable. Therefore, modern Japanese painting can differ only in the technique of execution or the materials used in the process. But most artists do not perceive various innovations well.
Not to mention fashionable modern subcultures such as anime and similar styles. Many artists are trying to blur the line between the classics and what is in demand today. For the most part, this state of affairs is due to commerce. Classics and traditional genres in fact, they don’t buy, therefore, it’s unprofitable to work as an artist in your favorite genre, you need to adapt to fashion.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, Japanese painting is a treasure trove of fine arts. Perhaps the country in question remained the only one that did not follow Western trends, did not adapt to fashion. Despite many blows at the time of the advent of new techniques, Japanese artists still managed to defend national traditions in many genres. This is probably why, in modern times, paintings made in classical styles are highly valued at exhibitions.
Do you love Japanese painting? How much do you know about famous Japanese artists? Let's take a look at the most famous Japanese artists who created their works in the ukiyo-e style (浮世絵) in this article. This style of painting has been developed since the Edo period. The hieroglyphs that write this style 浮世絵 literally mean "pictures (images) of the changing world", you can read more about this direction of painting
Hisikawa Moronobu(菱川師宣, 1618-1694). Considered the founder of the ukiyo-e genre, although, in fact, he is only the first master whose life has been preserved. biographical information. Moronobu was born into the family of a master who dyed fabrics and embroidered with gold and silver threads and for a long time He was a family craft, so the hallmark of his work is the beautifully decorated clothes of beauties, which give a wonderful artistic effect.
After moving to Edo, he first studied painting techniques on his own, and then the artist Kambun continued his studies.
Mostly Moronobu's albums have come down to us, in which he depicts historical and literary subjects and books with patterns for kimonos. The master also worked in the shunga genre, and among individual works several depictions of beautiful women have been preserved. 
(鳥居清長, 1752-1815). Recognized at the end of the 18th century, the Seki (Sekiguchi) master Shinsuke (Ishibei) bore the pseudonym Torii Kiyonaga, which he took after inheriting the school of ukiyo-e Torii from Torii Kiyomitsu after the latter's death.
Kiyonaga was born in the family of bookseller Shirakoya Ishibei. Most famous the genre of bijinga brought him, although he began with yakusha-e. The plots for engravings in the bijinga genre were taken from Everyday life: walks, festive processions, trips to nature. Among the many works of the artist, the series “Competition of fashionable beauties from fun neighborhoods”, depicting Minami, one of the “fun neighborhoods” in the south of Edo, “12 portraits of southern beauties”, “10 types of tea shops”. hallmark the master was a detailed study of the background view and the use of techniques that came from the West to depict light and space.
Kiyonaga gained its initial fame with the resumption in 1782 of the series "Models of Fashion: Models New as Spring Foliage", begun by Koryusai in the 1770s for the publisher Nishimurai Yohachi.
(喜多川歌麿, 1753-1806). This eminent ukiyo-e master was significantly influenced by Torii Kiyonaga and the publisher Tsutai Juzaburo. As a result of a long collaboration with the latter, many albums, books with illustrations and a series of engravings were published.
Despite the fact that Utamaro took stories from the lives of simple artisans and strove to depict nature (“The Book of Insects”), fame came to him as an artist of works dedicated to geishas from the Yoshiwara quarter (“Yoshiwara Green Houses Yearbook”).
Utamaro reached high level in expression mental states on paper. For the first time in Japanese woodcuts, chest compositions began to be used.
It was the work of Utamaro that influenced french impressionists and contributed to the interest of Europeans in Japanese engravings.
(葛飾北斎, 1760-1849). Hokusai's real name is Tokitaro. Probably the most widely known ukiyo-e master around the world. Throughout his work, he used over thirty pseudonyms. Quite often, historians use pseudonyms to periodize his work.
At first, Hokusai worked as a carver, whose work was limited by the artist's intention. This fact weighed on Hokusai, and he began to look for himself as an independent artist.
In 1778, he became an apprentice at the studio of Katsukawa Shunsho, who specialized in yakusha-e prints. Hokusai was both a talented and very diligent student who always showed respect to the teacher, and therefore enjoyed the special favor of Shunsho. Thus, the first independent work Hokusai were in the yakusha-e genre in the form of diptychs and triptychs, and the popularity of the student was equal to that of the teacher. At this time, the young master had already developed his talent so much that it became crowded within one school, and after the death of the teacher, Hokusai left the studio and studied the directions of other schools: Kano, Sotatsu (otherwise Koetsu), Rinpa, Tosa.
During this period, the artist is experiencing significant financial difficulties. But at the same time, his formation as a master is taking place, who refuses the usual image that society demanded, and is looking for his own style.
In 1795, illustrations for the poetic anthology Keka Edo Murasaki were published. Then Hokusai painted surimono paintings, which immediately began to be popular, and many artists began to imitate them.
From this period, Tokitaro began to sign his works with the name Hokusai, although some of his works were published under the pseudonyms Tatsumasa, Tokitaro, Kako, Sorobeku.
In 1800, the master began to call himself Gakejin Hokusai, which means "Painting Mad Hokusai."
TO famous series illustrations include "36 Views of Mount Fuji", of which the most prominent is "The Victorious Wind. Clear Day" or "Red Fuji" and "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", "100 Views of Mount Fuji", released in three albums, "Hokusai Manga" (北斎漫画), which is called the "encyclopedia of the Japanese people". The artist has invested in "Manga" all his views on creativity, philosophy. "Manga" is the most important source for studying the life of Japan at that time, as it includes many cultural aspects. In total, twelve issues were published during the life of the artist, and after his death - three more:
* 1815 - II, III
* 1817 - VI, VII
* 1849 - XIII (after the death of the artist)
Hokusai's art influenced such European destinations like Art Nouveau and French Impressionism.
(河鍋暁斎, 1831-1889). He used the pseudonyms Seisei Kyosai, Shuransai, Baiga Dojin, studied at the Kano school.
Unlike Hokusai, Kyosai was rather cheeky, which caused him to fall out with the artist Tsuboyama Tozan. After school, he became an independent master, although he sometimes visited her for another five years. At that time, he was painting kyoga, the so-called "crazy pictures".
Among the outstanding engravings, the "One Hundred Paintings of Kyosai" are distinguished. As an illustrator, Kyosai collaborates with other artists to create illustrations for short stories and novels.
At the end of the 19th century, Europeans often visited Japan. The artist was familiar with some of them, and several of his works are now in the British Museum.
(歌川広重, 1797-1858). He worked under the pseudonym Ando Hiroshige (安藤広重) and is known for his subtle rendering of natural motifs and natural phenomena. The first painting "Mount Fuji in the snow", which is now kept in the Suntory Museum in Tokyo, he wrote at the age of ten. Plots early works based on real events taking place on the streets. His famous cycles are 100 Views of Edo, 36 Views of Mount Fuji, 53 Tokaido Stations, 69 Kimokaido Stations, 100 known species Edo. Monet and the Russian artist Bilibin were greatly influenced by the 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road, painted after traveling along the East Seaside Road, as well as by 100 Views of Edo. From the kacho-ga series of 25 engravings, the most famous sheet is “Sparrows over a snow-covered camellia”.
(歌川 国貞, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (Jap. 三代歌川豊国)). One of the most outstanding artists ukiyo-e.
He paid special attention to kabuki actors and the theater itself - this is about 60% of all works. Also known are works in the bijinga genre and portraits of sumo wrestlers. It is known that he created from 20 to 25 thousand stories, which included 35-40 thousand sheets. He rarely addressed landscapes and warriors. Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 国芳, 1798 - 1861) Born into the family of a silk dyer. Kuniyoshi began learning to draw at the age of ten while living in their family of the artist Kuninao. Then he continued to study with Katsukawa Shun'ei, and at the age of 13 he entered the workshop of Tokuyoni. The first years of the young artist, things are not going well. But after receiving an order from publisher Kagaya Kitibei for five prints for the 108 Suikoden Heroes series, things took off. He creates the rest of the characters in this series, and then proceeds to other various jobs, and after fifteen years he is on a par with Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kunisada.
After the 1842 ban on images theater scenes, actors, geishas and courtesans, Kuniyoshi writes his "cat" series, makes engravings from an educational series for housewives and children, depicts national heroes in the series "Traditions, morality and deanery", and by the end of the 1840s - the beginning of the 1850s, after the easing of prohibitions, the artist returns to the theme of kabuki.
(渓斎英泉, 1790-1848). Known for his works in the bidding genre. His finest work includes portraits of the okubi-e ("large heads") type, which are considered examples of the craftsmanship of the Bunsei era (1818-1830), when the ukiyo-e genre was in decline. The artist wrote many lyrical and erotic surimonos, as well as the cycle of landscapes "Sixty-nine Stations of Kisokaido", which he could not complete, and Hiroshige finished it.
The novelty in the depiction of bijinga was a sensuality that other artists had not had before. From his works we can understand the fashion of that time. He also published biographies of the Forty-seven Ronin and wrote several other books, including The History of Ukiyo-e Prints (Ukiyo-e ruiko), which contains biographies of the artists. And in Notes of a Nameless Elder, he described himself as a depraved drunkard and former owner a brothel in Nezu that burned to the ground in the 1830s.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木春信, 1724-1770) The real name of the artist is Hozumi Jirobei. He is the pioneer of ukiyo-e polychrome printing. He studied at the Kano school and studied painting. Then, under the influence of Shigenaga Nishimura and Toriya Kiyomitsu, woodcutting became his passion. Printings in two or three colors have been made since the beginning of the 18th century, and Harunobu began to paint pictures in ten colors, using three boards and combining three colors - yellow, blue and red.
He stood out in the depiction of street scenes and paintings in the shunga genre. And since the 1760s, he was one of the first who began to portray the actors of the kabuki theater. His work influenced E. Manet and E. Degas.
(小原古邨, 1877 - 1945). His real name is Matao Ohara. Depicted scenes from the Russo-Japanese and Sino-Japanese wars. However, after the advent of photography, his work began to sell poorly, and he began to earn a living teaching at the school of fine arts in Tokyo. In 1926, Ernest Felloza, curator of the department Japanese art in the Boston Museum, persuaded Ohara to return to painting, and the artist began to depict birds and flowers, and his work sold well abroad. 
(伊藤若冲, 1716 - 1800). He stood out among other artists with his eccentricity and lifestyle, which consisted in friendship with many cultural and religious figures of that time. Depicted animals, flowers and birds in a very exotic way. He was very famous and took orders for painting screens and temple paintings.
(鳥居清信, 1664-1729). One of the most important representatives early period ukiyo-e. Despite the great influence of his teacher Hisikawa Monorobu, he became the founder of the yakusha-e genre in the depiction of posters and posters and invented his own style. The actors were portrayed in special poses in the role brave heroes and were painted 
a noble orange color, and the villains were drawn in blue colors. To depict passion, the artist invented a special type of mimizugaki pattern - these are winding lines with alternating thin and thick strokes and combined with a grotesque image of the muscles of the limbs.
Torii Kiyonobu is the founder of the Torii dynasty of artists. His students were Torii Kiyomasu, Torii Kiyoshige I, Torii Kiyomitsu.
Who is your favorite ukiyo-e artist?
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