| Japanese woodcuts: Simply beautiful By Laura Salinger |
| According to the Chazen Museum of Art, the woodcut first appeared in China during the 9th century and was used as a method to stamp designs on fabrics and textiles. It was also used to print religious texts during the same time period or even earlier in Japan and China. For nearly nine centuries, woodcut printing remained a utilitarian and simplistic tool, using only a single color. In the 18th century, Japan created a much more developed woodcut printing system which used multiple blocks and up to twenty different colors. The result was a much more intricate compositions which would become known as ukiyo-e, Japanese for "pictures of the floating world." Ukiyo-e has been commended for its graceful lines, elegant use of color, and intentional flatness, which create a unique medium of art. As this genre of Japanese art began to flourish, masters of the art soon appeared. Ando or Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) are often referred to as the greatest Japanese printmaking artists of the 19th century. Hiroshige was primarily a landscape artist (and is best known for these prints), but he focused on other topics including people and historical narratives. Some of his most popular works include Eight Views of Lake Biwa, Famous Places in the Eastern Capital, and The Fifty-three Stations of Tokaido. Hokusai, an artist, painter, printer, and ukiyo-e maker, became internationally recognized for his woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. This series includes one of his best known works, Beneath the Great Wave off Kanagawa. While woodcut was not new to the western world, Japanese artist's unique woodcuts would catch the eye of western artists. According to the Chazen Museum of Art, "Japanese woodcut prints were a major influence on woodcut artists around the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century." In fact, Japanese art, styles, textiles, and dress would become extremely popular in Europe and America after the Treaty of Kanagawa (1854) opened Japan's borders to the western world. This obsession with everything Japanese would become known as Japonisme. What comes next is the trend which is the theme of the Chazen exhibit; the merging of Japan's woodcut style with western woodcuts. According to the museum, "Color woodcut printmaking was not new to America or to Britain and other European countries when Japanese prints caught western artists' imagination. Still, the Japanese color woodcut's simple black lines, fresh and bold colors, simplicity of materials, and departure from traditional compositions and formats entranced print artists, as well as the rest of the public. Likewise, Japanese audiences and artists were intrigued by the possibilities of western art and imagery, which was broadly available by the end of the nineteenth century." As travel increased between Japan and the western world, the market for woodcut prints grew substantially. Woodcut art reached a monumental peak and the result is an influx of high quality and unique woodcut prints. "Color Woodcut International" includes work from some of the finest artists working during this period and highlights the colorful development of woodblock printmaking on an international scale as artists traveled, learned, and exchanged ideas with each other in an every-shrinking world." In the years to follow, the woodcut craze would die down a bit, but western artists continued to use this medium throughout the 20th century and Japan continued to produce masters of this art form. Today, woodcut is still used by artists wishing to utilize the unique characteristics of this medium. Chicagoan artist Carlos Cortez is a self-proclaimed painter and woodcut artist, while the Cleveland Museum of ARt describes Neil Welliver's woodcut print Strump as "a complex riot of color printed from twenty-seven blocks." While styles have changed dramatically, woodcut remains a fresh and exciting art form for contemporary artists. |
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| The Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus is currently displaying an exhibit featuring Japanese, British, and American color woodcuts. "Color Woodcut International: Japan, Britian and America in the Early Twentieth Century" features artists like Hiroshige II, Hiroshi Yoshida, Wesley Dow, and Bertha Lum. The exhibit examines a short-lived period in the early 1900s when Japanese, British and American artists created woodcuts in a similar international style that has been described as beautiful in its simplicity using graceful lines, elegant color, and idyllic images. While the exhibit features woodcuts from a brief period in the early 20th century, woodcut printing has been around for centuries. China and Japan are noted as the earliest countries to develop woodcut printing. Japan has long been credited with being an international leader in woodcut art. |
| "Fuji in Clear Weather after Snow from Tago Bay" -- Kawase Hasui (Japanese, 1883-1957) |
| "Eyes, Hitomi" -- Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (Japanese, 1889-1948) |
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