Portrait of Young Woman please inquire about price

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Woodblock print. Japanese.
29 in. × 9.5 in., frame 37 in. × 16.75 in.

A Brief History of Woodblock Prints and the Floating World

Compared with paintings and calligraphy, woodblock prints in Japan were considered a more plebian form of art, being mass-produced and therefore inexpensive. Only recently have they been seriously collected, now bringing large sums of money.

Originally, printers produced images of deities or sutras in temples for devout pilgrims. By the Edo period (1600-1868), however, artists began to produce secular themes. According to Buddhist tradition, worldly joys and aspirations are temporary; enlightenment comes from detachment from this floating world (ukiyo). However, during the hedonistic and culturally isolated Edo Period, many felt that these ephemeral joys should be savored in the moment. Produced by talented artists, engravers, and printers, images of these joys were called ukiyo-e and featured popular courtesans and actors, or scenes of daily life. Ukiyo-e went on to influence the French impressionist movement.

Japanese art conveys a respect and understanding of nature, expressed not only in the motifs used, but also in the respect for the materials from which an object was made. Their use of asymmetry implies emotion, movement, and change, rather than rationality or balance, and a sense of humor and playfulness.