Japanese painting is an absolutely unique direction in world art. It has existed since ancient times, but as a tradition it has not lost its popularity and ability to surprise.
Attention to traditions
The East is not only landscapes, mountains and the rising sun. These are also the people who created its history. It is these people who have maintained the tradition of Japanese painting for many centuries, developing and multiplying their art. Those who made a significant contribution to the history of Japanese artists. It is thanks to them that modern ones have retained all the canons of traditional Japanese painting.
Painting style
Unlike Europe, Japanese artists preferred to paint closer to graphics than to painting. In such paintings one cannot find the rough, careless strokes of oil that are so characteristic of the Impressionists. What is the graphic nature of such art as Japanese trees, rocks, animals and birds - everything in these pictures is drawn as clearly as possible, with firm and confident ink lines. All objects in the composition must have an outline. Filling inside the contour is usually done in watercolor. The color is washed out, other shades are added, and somewhere the color of the paper is left. Decorativeness is exactly what distinguishes Japanese paintings from the art of the whole world.
Contrasts in painting
Contrast is another characteristic technique used by Japanese artists. This may be a difference in tone, color, or a contrast of warm and cold shades.
The artist resorts to a technique when he wants to highlight some element of the subject. It can be a vein on a plant, a single petal or a tree trunk against the sky. Then the light, illuminated part of the object and the shadow under it are depicted (or vice versa).
Transitions and colors
When drawing Japanese paintings, transitions are often used. They are different: for example, from one color to another. On the petals of water lilies, peonies, you can notice the transition from a light shade to a rich, bright one of some color.
Also, transitions are used in the image of the water surface, the sky. The smooth transition from sunset to dark, deepening twilight looks very beautiful. In drawing clouds, transitions from different shades and reflections are also used.
The main motives of Japanese painting
In art, everything is interconnected with real life, with the feelings and emotions of those who are involved in it. As in literature, music and other manifestations of creativity, there are several eternal themes in painting. These are historical plots, images of people and nature.
Japanese landscapes are varied. Often in the paintings there are images of ponds - a favorite subject of the interior of the Japanese. A decorative pond, several water lilies and bamboo nearby - this is what a typical 17th-18th century painting looks like.
Animals in Japanese painting
Animals are also a recurring element in Asian painting. Traditionally, it is a crouching tiger or a domestic cat. In general, Asians are very fond of and therefore their representatives are found in all forms of oriental art.
The world of fauna is another theme followed by Japanese painting. Birds - cranes, decorative parrots, luxurious peacocks, swallows, inconspicuous sparrows and even roosters - all of them are found in the drawings of oriental masters.
Fish is an equally hot topic for Japanese artists. Koi are the Japanese version of the goldfish. These creatures live in Asia in all ponds, even small parks and gardens. Koi carp is a kind of tradition that belongs specifically to Japan. These fish symbolize struggle, determination, achieving one's goal. No wonder they are depicted as floating with the flow, always with decorative wave crests.
Japanese paintings: depiction of people
People in Japanese painting are a special theme. The artists depicted geishas, emperors, warriors and elders.
Geisha are depicted surrounded by flowers, always wearing elaborate robes with many folds and elements.
Wise men are depicted sitting or explaining something to their students. The image of an old scientist is a symbol of the history, culture and philosophy of Asia.
The warrior was portrayed as formidable, sometimes intimidating. The long ones were drawn in detail and looked like a wire.
Usually all the details of the armor are refined with ink. Often, naked warriors are decorated with tattoos depicting an oriental dragon. It is a symbol of strength and military power of Japan.
The rulers were portrayed for the imperial families. Beautiful robes, ornaments in the hair of men - that such works of art abound.
landscapes
Traditional Japanese landscape - mountains. Asian painters have succeeded in depicting a variety of landscapes: they can depict the same peak in different colors, with different atmospheres. The only thing that remains unchanged is the mandatory presence of flowers. Usually, along with the mountains, the artist depicts some kind of plant in the foreground and draws it in detail. Mountains and cherry blossoms look beautiful. And if you draw falling petals - the picture is admired by the sad beauty. The contrast in the atmosphere of the painting is another remarkable quality of Japanese culture.
Hieroglyphs
Often the composition of a picture in Japanese painting is combined with letters. Hieroglyphs are arranged so that it looks beautiful compositionally. Usually they are drawn on the left or right of the picture. Hieroglyphs can indicate what is depicted in the picture, its name or the name of the artist.
Japan is one of the richest countries in history and culture. All over the world, it is customary to consider the Japanese as pedantic people who find aesthetics in absolutely all manifestations of life. Therefore, Japanese paintings are always very harmonious in color and tone: if there are inclusions of some bright color, then only in the semantic centers. On the example of paintings by Asian artists, one can study color theory, the correct transfer of form using graphics, and composition. The technique of execution of Japanese paintings is so high that it can serve as an example for working with watercolors and performing "washing" of graphic works.
Japanese painting is a popular traditional Japanese art form, which is divided into many genres and styles.
Japanese style painting
Nature motifs are most widely used in Japanese-style painting. Also, in the paintings of the Land of the Rising Sun, all kinds of scenes from the everyday life of the nobility, samurai, and mythological heroes were often depicted.
The most famous genres of Japanese paintings
Japanese painting technique uki-yo
In the 14th century, the uki-yo style became widespread, which included woodcuts depicting the lives of beautiful geishas, kabuki theater actors, sumo wrestlers, and various natural landscapes.
The process of creating an ukiyo-e engraving involved an artist, a carver and a printer, and the whole process consisted of several stages. First, the painter drew a picture on white paper, then the carver applied glue to the back of the picture and applied it to a wooden board. When the drawing was glued, parts that were not painted over were cut out of it, thus a printing plate was obtained. Then black-and-white prints were made, on which the painter applied the necessary colors. The cutter made the required number (up to several dozen) of printing plates, which were combined with a given background or color. The printer, after discussing the color scheme with the artist, covered the forms with paint and, applying them to slightly damp rice paper, created an engraving.
The style in which Japanese prints were printed became popular not only in Japan, but also among Western artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and others. This influence on European art is called "Japanism".
Kano School of Japanese Monochrome Painting
The most famous school of Japanese fine arts is the Kano school, whose paintings depicted various birds, animals, mythological creatures, incidents from the life of ordinary people. Drawings were also applied to the sliding doors of Japanese palaces.
Kano painting
The artists of the Kano school, among other things, are famous for their magnificent monochrome paintings on silk. A distinctive feature of such creations is the combination of real objects and animals that are in the foreground of the image, with abstract, completely abstract components of the background (for example, clouds).
In modern Japan, there are a large number of artists who paint in the style of the anime subculture and other areas of the new Japanese culture. Takashi Murokami, who works in Kaikai Kiki's studio, received great recognition. He paints pictures dedicated to the life of the post-war Japanese state and anime, in addition, he creates sculptures and paintings in a surreal style and in traditional national genres.
Video about painting Japan
For centuries, painting has occupied an important place in the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. This type of art will be discussed in the video.
Genre of the article - Painting of Japan
Japanese painting is one of the oldest trends in art.. Painting in Japan appeared in the most ancient period of the country's history. On pottery and other household items, you can find the simplest images of geometric shapes and various patterns. However, with the advent of Chinese culture in the country, the works of Japanese artists more and more began to contain elements of the painting of the country of Confucius.
One of the most impressive and colorful areas of Japanese painting is the landscape.. Japanese artists did not attach much importance to the realism of the composition. The main thing for them was the transfer of impressions from the contemplated by them majesty of nature.
How to draw a picture in Japanese style?
The Japanese landscape can be depicted with ordinary watercolors. To paint over, you need to use more water, and to draw individual details, add more paint.
In order to get started, you will need cardboard or watercolor paper, a pencil, an eraser, pastel crayons and, of course, watercolor.
- Start with a pencil sketch. For this draw the contours future picture on a sheet with a simple pencil. Make sure that the lines are very soft and barely noticeable. You need to press the pencil very lightly. After all, according to Japanese tradition, the drawing should be very light and almost weightless. In no case do not draw details with a pencil - this is the concern of a thin brush.
- Draw distant mountains, pagodas, ponds in the background, build some traditional Japanese bridges.
- When outlining the silhouettes of people, do not forget to take into account the peculiarities of their clothing and posture.
- For paintings in the Japanese spirit, it has already become customary to have the main symbol of this country on them. - cherry blossoms. You can also depict this amazingly beautiful cherry with petals flying around in the wind in your work.
- After pencil drawing do some coloring paintings. remember, that colors should be weightless, airy. To do this, you need to choose the right ratio of water and paint. It is necessary to take into account the ability of cardboard to absorb water, and watercolors to the appearance of streaks.
- To color the background (for example sky and water) use thick brushes. Start this process with the big details at the top of the painting, work your way down until you have painted all the water, greenery and sky details in the painting. Then leave the drawing to dry completely.
- Now you can go to the details. Take a thin brush and start painting the crowns and trunks of trees, roofs of houses, snowy mountain peaks. Do not try to draw every detail down to the leaves and petals. Your task is to set the direction of the buds and branches with a few brush strokes. To get the necessary shades, mix the watercolor on the palette. Too obvious, bright shades should be avoided.
- In one of the corners of the picture, place Japanese characters. On the Internet, you can find many Japanese poems (haiku) suitable for you and your mood. These symbols are not as easy to draw as it seems at first glance, so it is better to practice in their image. To give the writing a light touch of age and some dustiness, use black paint mixed with blue or brown.
- Use pastel crayons to create shadows. They should be located on the slopes of mountains and the surface of the water. The main thing is not to overdo it. There shouldn't be too many of them.
simple painting in japanese style
If you don’t have a lot of time, and you don’t have any desire to draw vast landscapes, but you would like to decorate the interior with a Japanese “thing”, then you can use the following technique. Paint a tree branch with thick black paint. Then pour some soft pink paint into a disposable plate. Dip the bottom of a plastic bottle into the paint and make prints on paper. Wait for the drawing to dry. In this way, you will get a wonderful sakura branch without any effort on your own.
Today, the Japanese theme in the interior is very relevant. These are paintings, and wall decor, and
In this catalog of the online store site you can find and buy many variations of Japan paintings. All of them are printed on custom-made canvas using environmentally friendly inks and materials. The latest printing technologies ensure high quality and durability of printed images.
You can buy paintings on canvas Japan in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of Russia, to which delivery is also carried out, in just a few clicks. To do this, you only need to place an order on our website. Our manager will contact you within 5 minutes to agree on the time and place of delivery.
Prices for Japanese paintings start at 930 rubles and depend on the canvas size you choose and the style of image processing. Delivery time in Moscow and cities where there are representative offices of our online store is from 3 days, to all other cities - from 7 days. You can also find discount coupons with our partners, which will allow you to buy a Japan painting with a discount of up to 30%.
Each country has its own heroes of contemporary art, whose names are well-known, whose exhibitions attract crowds of fans and curious people, and whose works are dispersed in private collections.
In this article, we will introduce you to the most popular contemporary artists in Japan.
Keiko Tanabe
Born in Kyoto, Keiko won many art competitions as a child, but her higher education was not in the arts at all. She has worked in the international relations department of a Japanese self-government trade organization in Tokyo, a large law firm in San Francisco, and a private consulting firm in San Diego, and has traveled extensively. Starting in 2003, she left her job and, after learning the basics of watercolor painting in San Diego, devoted herself exclusively to art.
Ikenaga Yasunari (Ikenaga Yasunari)
Japanese artist Ikenaga Yasunari paints portraits of contemporary women in the ancient Japanese tradition of painting, using the Menso brush, mineral pigments, carbon black, ink and linen as a base. His characters are women of our time, but thanks to the style of Nihonga, there is a feeling that they came to us from ancient times.
Abe Toshiyuki
Abe Toshiyuki is a realist artist who has mastered the watercolor technique to perfection. Abe can be called an artist-philosopher: he fundamentally does not draw well-known sights, preferring subjective compositions that reflect the internal states of the person who watches them.
Hiroko Sakai
The career of the artist Hiroko Sakai began in the early 90s in the city of Fukuoka. After graduating from Seinan Gakuin University and Nihon French School of Interior Design in design and visualization, she founded "Atelier Yume-Tsumugi Ltd." and successfully managed this studio for 5 years. Many of her works adorn the lobbies of hospitals, offices of large corporations and some municipal buildings in Japan. After moving to the United States, Hiroko began to paint in oils.
Riusuke Fukahori
The three-dimensional works of Ryuusuki Fukahori are like holograms. They are made with multiple layers of acrylic paint and a transparent resin liquid, all of which, along with traditional techniques such as shadowing, edge softening, transparency control, allow Ryusuki to create sculptural paintings and add depth and realism to the work.
Natsuki Otani
Natsuki Otani is a talented Japanese illustrator living and working in England.
Makoto Muramatsu
Makoto Muramatsu chose a win-win theme as the basis for his work - he draws cats. His pictures are popular all over the world, especially in the form of puzzles.
Tetsuya Mishima
Most of the paintings by contemporary Japanese artist Mishima are made in oils. She has been professionally engaged in painting since the 90s, she has several solo exhibitions and a large number of collective exhibitions, both Japanese and foreign.
