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Japanese
Color Woodblock Prints
Ukiyo-e (pictures of the
floating world) included prints produced from the seventeenth
through the nineteenth century, primarily as keepsakes. Many
portrayed famous courtesans in fashionable attire or kabuki
theatrical stars costumed for specific roles. Both courtesans
and actors were denizens of the ukiyo, a world of ephemeral
popularity, beauty, and pleasure. Illustrations of scenes from
classic literature or parodies of classic subjects; birds,
flowers, and other nature subjects; and landscapes and
townscapes were also popular. However, subjects other than
courtesans, actors, or scenes of the entertainment quarter are
more properly called nishiki-e (brocade prints), which
describes the general medium of multiblock color woodblock
prints rather than the subjects. Landscape prints (such as
Hokusai's Red Fuji) and townscape prints were sold as
souvenirs of travel or of favorite gathering spots in the big
cities. Prints were purchased by collectors of modest means,
mainly townspeople, instead of the more expensive paintings
favored by wealthy collectors.
Schools of ukiyo-e print
designers and painters devised conventions for portraying
figures that would become particular to a school. The resulting
signature school styles were coveted among collectors of certain
periods. There were fads for types of feminine beauty, seen in
prints as small and fragile waifs, large and robust women of
character, tall and columnar beauties, and so forth, and this
was reflected in the waxing and waning popularity of certain
school styles. In addition, schools of printmakers might
specialize in specific subjects, such as portraits of actors or
beauties, ghostly or weird scenes, samurai heroes, or legendary
themes.
Prints were a form of
communication about current political or social situations,
especially in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Although the shogunate
would not permit any military incident, military or governmental
figure, or current event to be shown in a print, artists
circumvented these limits by hiding taboo subject matter under
layers of parody. Print designers were constantly subject to
government restrictions, the policies of which tried to impede
townspeople from spending their time and money on frivolous or
salacious entertainments. Because prints often promoted these
types of entertainment and because all prints designs had to be
approved by government censors prior to manufacture, prints
became a focus for these government constraints. Publishers were
limited in the quality of paper, the number of color blocks used
on a single print, and the types of pigments. At times, they
were even forbidden to portray actors or courtesans. As a
result, print artists were constantly inventing creative
solutions to maintain their customer base.
The traditional printmaking
system was coordinated by publishers who would commission a
design from an artist, then work with specialist carvers and
colorists to create the final print. In this process, many
aesthetic decisions were made by the publisher as well as the
artist.
The color woodblock print was
made by creating a keyblock, which contained the major outlines
of the print. This would generally be printed black, although in
the 1820s and 1830s blue was sometimes used. A key notched on
both the main printing block and on the paper would be repeated
on all subsequent color blocks for alignment. With the
restrictions placed on prints during the Edo period, the number
of color blocks averaged about ten to sixteen. However, after
these restrictions were lifted in the late nineteenth century,
the number of blocks used on a print could range into the
nineties.
In the twentieth century, many
print artists continued to use this multiblock method for
creating prints. Since the beginning of the twentieth century,
print artists have generally divided into two camps: artists who
cut, color, and print their own works, called sosaku-hanga
(or creative prints) and those who design for publishers,
assigning carvers and printers to create the final art works,
called shin-hanga (new prints). In addition, a number of
techniques have been introduced from the West and from the
textile-making tradition, such as stencil-printing methods.
About the Artist:
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