Niroshige ll, “Thirty-six views of Tokyo” is done in the style Ukiyo-e which during the Edo period was a way for artisans to mass produce their art work. Ukiyo-e is the technique of woodblock, Ukiyo-e has serval different themes. It consist of Bijin ( beautiful women of the pleasure quarter) Portraits of actors, Famous landscapes, and Asobi-e ( erotica ). The Nihonbasi “Thirty-six views of Tokyo” is done in the Landscape tradition, which is portrayed in the title of the print. Landscape prints normally feature a beautiful place in japan that the Chonin would want to visit, the artist Utagawa Hiroshige ll uses techniques to portray what the subject of the piece which is a harbor and shoreline that helps help portray a sense of depth and logging to the “Thirty-six views of Tokyo.”
With the subject of the print being so easily given, the composition of the print is one that is not so easily seen. There is a lot that is going on in the print which at first conveys a sense of chaos, theres maybe a bridge, a shoreline with buildings, boats and a ladder of some sort right in the middle ...
The house is surrounded by green grass which makes the image more realistic and the trees in the background and the tree in the foreground create a sense of depth. The image is quite well spaced out, due to a vast amount of area situated between objects. There is a visual equality in the symmetrical image. There is a contrast between the colours of the image to draw attention to the house. The image looks to be taken in the dusk of the afternoon, where there is not much natural light, which creates a darker tone. The main emphasis of the image is the house, which seems to be quite different when the image is first seen by a viewer. The texture helps emphasize the main focal point seeing though it is quite smooth, the colour also creates a mood towards the image and atmosphere in the image. The line helps develop structure due to the tone being a medium darkness. In some places (the area surrounding the house) is a degree lighter and shadows are present to help form the line throughout this part of the
In 1857 Ando Hiroshige created a woodblock print titled Riverside Bamboo Market, Kyobashi representing a scene in Japan. The print is of a blue river, a bridge, and what looks like a mountain of bamboo. People are shown walking on the bridge as if they are entering the bamboo market. The colors in the artwork give off a calm feeling and the lines draw you into the details of the work. Calling the print Riverside Bamboo Market, Kyobashi, Ando Hiroshige presents the river as a market where people come to gain items to sustain focusing on the abundance of bamboo.
In his 1996 chapter of “The Grand Shrines of Ise and Izumo: The Appropriation of Vernacular Architecture” of the Architecture and Authority in Japan, William Howard Coaldrake explores the history and the purpose of the Grand Shrines of Ise and Izumo.
The most emphasized part of this image is the man lying on top of the child and leaning against the bed, part of the body being directly in the center and seems to take up the most space, this is where the eye tends to linger. The negative space is made interesting by including a turned over chair, and rumpled sheets on a bed and other homely objects, which indicates that this is set in a home. The contrast that is shown in this artwork is through the use of value since Daumier used implied light, the brighter and darker areas create a contrast against each other. While this piece is not symmetrically balanced, it is balanced asymmetrically. It is asymmetrically balanced through a man and most of a bed being placed in the center, on the right is a small child, the upper torso of an older looking man, a chair next to him, and the rest of the bed; on the left of the man is most of what seems to be a woman, and other less detailed furniture. There is a sense of repetition through the positive shapes of the people lying on the floor, this is also shown through the use of line that creates the entire lithograph. This provides a sense of cohesiveness and unity throughout the
In my mind, the piling on of more and more oil stick pigment as the text continues vertically down the canvas is symbolic of the gradual building up of ideas and words which are trapped inside the narrator because he is afraid to express them. As his silence and fear of self-expression continues, the ideas because so tightly packed together that he cannot separate them, like the barely readable black text surrounded by black pigment.
There is a lot of repetition of the vertical lines of the forest in the background of the painting, these vertical lines draw the eye up into the clouds and the sky. These repeated vertical lines contrast harshly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, is quite static and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have quite a lot of depth. This static effect is made up for in the immaculate amount of d...
The representation of the new age of exploration, which serves as an allusion to man’s potential, is starkly contrasted with the depiction of Icarus that serves as an allegory for man’s limits, indicating the shift from a euro-centric universe. This painting is an oil canvas landscape of the sun setting on the horizon of the ocean sea, while the ships were sailing through the body of water. The focus on humanism during this period is clearly portrayed by the presence of the plowman, shepherd, and fisherman performing their daily task. Lighter colors are used, which differ from the darker colors that were emphasized during the Dark Age or Medieval period. Shadows can be seen on the ground next to the plowman, showing the increasing artistic methods that begin to be utilized.
From the piece of artwork “Rain at the Auvers”. I can see roofs of houses that are tucked into a valley, trees hiding the town, black birds, clouds upon the horizon, hills, vegetation, a dark stormy sky and rain.
John Taylor’s picture of the signing is very realistic, especially when compared to Wolf’s picture, which is in a much more abstracted form. In Taylor’s picture the viewer can easily recognize natural objects shown in their true form. For example, the landscape in the background of the piece is easily recognizable as a forest. The layout is filled with tall trees and wavy grass. The
This is an image that I think of when I consider Japanese culture. They love gardens like this and you see similar images often when considering their culture. It is difficult to tell for sure, but the people in the distance appear to be dressed up. It is as though they have put on their best clothes to step out and enjoy this relaxing setting. I believe that this print is successful at capturing a moment in the mid 1800’s very well. It causes me to sense and experience what the artist was trying to capture. This print seems to conform to the formal theory of art. The print has only images of each object. None of them are particularly detailed or real to life but they do a very good job of organizing and describing the basic elements of the scene. It uses similar colors, shapes, and lines to those one might find in this garden in
Natsume Soseki’s Sanshiro took place in urban Japan, and used that setting to show the shortcomings and successes of Japanese urban spaces in the early Meiji-era. Sanshiro was a Japanese farm-boy from Kyushu, but began attending university in the city. He represents the Japanese who had to adjust to life in unfamiliar urban spaces and how living in those spaces could cause social change. I will use the sequence on pages 90-94 of Sanshiro, where Sanshiro travels with Nonomiya, Yoshiko, Mineko, and Hirota to see a Chrysanthemum Doll show at Dangozaka (‘dumpling hill’). This scene shows how Soseki represents urban space through the eyes of locals and Sanshiro when adjusting to, socializing in, and navigating
Over the course of Japanese history, arguably, no artist is more famous for their works than Katsushika Hokusai. During his 88 years of life, he produced over 30,000 pieces of artwork, and heavily influenced Western styles of art. His most famous piece was created around 1831, a Japanese styled piece titled, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This piece has stood as a defining piece of artwork in the Japanese culture for over 180 years, analyzed by students and authors for the interpretations filling the paper. The relationship between Hokusai’s painting has directly affected the Western point of view of Japanese style. The English author, Herbert Read’s novel interprets the painting distinctly differently from a Japanese point, American poet,
Japan is no longer safe! This was the sentiment of most Americans after The Doolittle Raids; America’s first bombing attack on mainland Japan. These raids had a profound effect on American morale during WWII. The supposedly impregnable island of Japan had been ruptured and The U.S. was now on the Offensive. Initial perceptions of American people’s the support of these raids would reflect an unwavering dedication to the complete annihilation of the Japanese foe. Though it is true that nearly all Americans supported the war, some did have reservations. The damage done to the Japanese people as well as the welfare of U.S. soldiers was and issue for many. Destination Tokyo, a wartime film, depicts the issue of the pure necessity to fight the Japanese as far outweighing any loss of life or property. Also the April 19, 1942 New York Times editorial “The Attack on Japan” casts the raids as the only effective, meaningful response to the coldhearted Japanese enemy. How are these claims related to one another? Is this a valid justification for war? More broadly, what do these claims speak about human nature in general?
Japan has many wonders that the general public does not know of. Most Americans only know about the past wars of Japan, therefore they don’t know the true history of the people that life there. Several wonders of Japan include its History, Government, Geography and Topography, Cultural Customs and Economy and Trade.