Ukiyo-e (which means “The Floating Worlds”) is a style of Japanese art in the 17th-19th century. Ukiyo-e were woodblock prints and paintings that featured pretty women, actors, sumo wrestlers, folk tales, erotica, etc. They emerged in the 1670s from Hishikawa Monorobu’s paintings of beautiful women and their monochromatic tones.

The meaning behind Ukiyo-e/The Floating Worlds alludes to the urban Japanese lifestyle and especially places where people could relax.

The Fascinating Development Of Colour In Print

As I mentioned before, Monorobu’s paintings were a huge influence on Ukiyo-e print. Monorobu’s coloured prints were exclusively used for special commissions. By the 1740s, a man named Suzuki Harunobu created “brocade prints” (multicoloured Japanese print), and he was the first person to print fully in colour.

The Significance of Printing on Woodblock

Back then, printing was all done by hand, and thanks to the revolutionary discovery of Harunobu, printers were able to achieve better prints compared to machines and blend colours on a printing block.

The interesting aspects of Ukiyo-e Artwork

The Ukiyo-e art style is known to have both “native and foreign realism.” Screen paintings were the first to be done in this style and depicted the floating worlds and the daily lives of Japanese citizens. These paintings prominently feature women and also featured prostitutes and kabuki actors from plays and erotica.

Japanese art styles and prints were spread across Western societies and had an impact on European art. The term for this is called “Japonisme,” and European artists often demonstrated their appreciation for Japanese art by painting their ornamental style patterns onto their art pieces clothes.

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e

https://www.britannica.com/art/ukiyo-e

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