Ukiyo-e artists and their works

The elements of Japanese art that were in contrast to Roman-Greco art were greatly admired by the 19^th century’s Impressionists; Jules de Goncourt in his Journal wrote that “Japonisme brought to the West a new coloration,” “a new system of decoration, and….. a poetic fantasy in the creation of the art object.” (Tanabe, 1) When making artworks, Japanese artists usually observed nature and applied it in their artworks.

“Senju No Ohashi” (Great Bridge at Senju) by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige, a master of Japanese landscape, was one of the Ukiyo-e artists. In 1856, he created “Senju No Ohashi” (Great Bridge at Senju) from the series of Meisho Edo Hyakkei (A Hundred Famous Views of Edo). His art “[suggested] a careful observation of [beautiful landscape of Edo]” (Kita, 34); however, he made the landscape into an attractive artwork by putting his own creativity and the Japanese art’s elements into it. The composition and the perspective of Japanese elements were clearly shown in this image; the strong diagonal of the bridge was the example. In this Edo landscape, the use of flat surface space was also presented; for instance, there were lacks of the use of bridge’s shadow and boats’ shadows that made the bridge and boats flowing around. For viewing this kind of Ukiyo-e pictures, viewers should use their own understandings instead of the letting the artists provide every single information. Moreover, the details of the small houses, people, and boats (decorative arts) in this print also showed parts of Japanese elements.

“Meisho Edo Hyakkei: Yotsuya, Naito Shinjuku” by Utagawa Hiroshige

Another print by Utagawa Hiroshige from the series A Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo that showed the Ukiyo-e elemets was “Meisho Edo Hyakkei: Yotsuya, Naito Shinjuku” (Yotsuya: The New Station at Naito). This image possessed an extraordinary view; “a row of shops seen through the leg of horses.” (Kita, 66) The trimming of the horse’s legs demonstrated an unusual composition that was always found in Ukiyo-e pictures. Furthermore, the bold and pure colors were applied in this image; the tone of brown color of the horse and green all over the ground were some of the examples.

“Azumabashi Kinryusan Enbo” by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige in his print, “Azumabashi Kinryusan Enbo” (Distant View of Kinryusan from Azuma Bridge) from the series A Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, also put the Ukiyo-e elements. He played with the composition by cropping the boat and placing it in the extreme foreground; this strong diagonal of the boat was used to capture the viewers’ eye. Hiroshige also placed the viewers’ eye in an awkward level with the bottom side of the boat and the water. (Kita, 69) The small-scaled city details in the background and the colors, a complex realism of hue, Hiroshige used were ingredients that could be found in Japanese arts.

A set of prints by Adachi Ginko

This set of prints, 1886, by Adachi Ginko, presented elements in the Ukiyo-e; for examples, the details of the people, the road, and the boats and the use of pure and monochrome colors.