Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks: 1680 - 1900

by Andreas Marks, Stephen Addiss (Foreword)

Japanese woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e , are the most recognizable Japanese art form. Their massive popularity has spread from Japan to be embraced by a worldwide audience. Covering the period from the beginning of the Japanese woodblock print in the 1680s until the year 1900, Japanese Woodblock Prints provides a detailed survey of all the famous ukiyo-e artists, along with over 500 full-color prints.

Unlike previous examinations of this art form, Japanese Woodblock Prints includes detailed histories of the publishers of woodblock prints--who were often the driving force determining which prints, and therefore which artists, would make it into mass circulation for a chance at critical and popular success. Invaluable as a guide for ukiyo-e enthusiasts looking for detailed information about their favorite Japanese woodblock print artists and prints, it is also an ideal introduction for newcomers to the world of the woodblock print. This lavishly illustrated book will be a valued addition to the libraries of scholars, as well as the general art enthusiast.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, History, Japan, Coffee Table Books, Japanese Literature

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2010

Reviews

[Gábor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a richly printed book offers an overview of Japanese woodblock prints, and their artists and publishers. These prints are a cross between art and commerce, (re)printed many times based on their popularity. Some of them were printed in single digit copies, many of them in multiple hundreds. Many show kabuki actors, geishas, but there are also a number of for landscapes, historical events, historical and imagery heroes and the like. The book presents minutia on most(?) identified artists and publishers and samples their prints. While this might be a good scholarly approach,this does not help the reader to place the prints presented into their proper historical context.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andreas Marks' Japanese Woodblock Prints is a rather different look at the subject than I have ever seen previously.
After an informative introductory chapter, the next section is made up of material regarding fifty Japanese print artists from the late seventeenth century up until the beginning of the twentieth century, arranged in order of the periods in which they worked. There are at least three prints shown for each artist; some artists have considerably more. There are brief texts about each artist along with the pictures of his work.

The last section is made up of material about publishers of Japanese prints during this period arranged in chronological order by the dates when the publishers began to issue prints. For each publisher, there is a brief text about the publisher as well as reproductions of some prints issued by that publisher. As with the artists, there are at least three prints by each publisher; most have more, some considerably so.

Anybody who has just a casual interest in Japanese prints or even someone who loves these prints will probably have little interest in the material about the publishers. I would think this might be quite useful to serious collectors of Japanese prints though.

I can not vouch for the accuracy in the colors of the prints represented. I can say that there are lots of pictures and many are truly beautiful. It would be hard to pick favorites but the Utamaro prints on pages 77 and 217 would certainly be among mine. Not beautiful but interesting and amusing are the pictures of a modern ship sailing into the harbor at Rhodes where the Colossus is still standing some 2000 years after it was actually destroyed (page 260) and an elephant shown as being the size of a brontosaurus (page 235).

As both an introduction to Japanese prints and the artists who made them as well as a look at the publishers who printed them, this should be a valuable and beautiful book.

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

engaging look not only at the prints themselves, but the manner in which they were published (from concept to sale, as much as historical record provides) along with the historical period(s) in which they were created.

[Abbie Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read through this on e-book format, with a professor in the subject reading it on YouTube. I think I wouldn't have finished without the reader's additional commentary and stories relating to the topic.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that this book would've spent more time on each artist and showed more of their prints. I think that perhaps it would've been more useful in doing so. Although, I believe that this is a nice place to start learning about the artists and some of the history.

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un poco repetitivo a veces, pero ya sé como decorar el salón

[Lulu]

ukiyo-e

Yoshitosh & yoshiiku MUZAN-E

Check Ehon Mizu ya Sora (Picture Book of Water and Sky), caricatures of well-known Kabuki actors, created in 1780 by the artist Nichosai.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...