Katsushika Hokusai
1760-1849
Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker
Printmaking in the Edo Period was done on wooden blocks carved by hand. This is called Relief Printmaking, where the ink is applied to the raised surfaces of the printing block and then pressed to paper. Link to a site with an explanation of this process The Process of printmaking involved many people during the ukiyo-e period. Some ukiyo-e artists specialized in making paintings, but most works were prints. Artists rarely carved their own woodblocks for printing; rather, production was divided between the artist, who designed the prints; the carver, who cut the woodblocks; the printer, who inked and pressed the woodblocks onto hand-made paper; and the publisher, who financed, promoted, and distributed the works.
Link to a site with an explanation of this process Vincent van Gogh Portrait of Pere Tanguy 1887 - You can see the Japanese prints on the wall behind his subject.
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Ukiyo-e is a term used for a style of printmaking used in Japan in the time known as the "Edo Period," 1600 to the mid-1800's.The direct translation of Ukiyo-e is "Floating world."
The influence of Ukiyo-e prints was felt far and wide. Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was inspired by these Japanese prints that were exported to France in the late 1800's. |