A famous art genre is Japanese woodcuts, known as ukiyo-e, which literally means “images of the floating world.” It is an art genre that originated in the 17th century and became popular with ordinary citizens of Japan because the relative ease of reproduction meant that these prints were affordable for the general population. The subject of these Japanese woodcuts were mainly scenes and people from the entertainment and pleasure neighborhoods in Edo (now Tokyo), namely the theaters and brothels. In fact, the ukiyo-e was used as billboards for the geisha, courtesans, and kabuki actors who work in these establishments.
In the late 1700s, ukiyo-e woodblock prints branched out to include landscape prints. Two prominent contemporaries in this period are Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige, although the latter was 37 years younger than the former. Both were famous for their landscape prints, although both also painted more “traditional” subjects of women and actors. At first glance, the works of these two masters may appear very similar in style and theme, including scenes from Edo and Mount Fuji. Unless one is familiar with their work, it can be difficult to distinguish between them and to see the differences that become more apparent on closer inspection. Furthermore, the works of both masters influenced some renowned European artists: Hokusai’s works influenced Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Hermann Obrist, while Hiroshige had a clear influence on Vincent Van Gogh and Ivan Bilibin. Both men also inspired and influenced an entirely new art movement: Jugendstil in Germany and Mir Iskusstva in Russia, respectively.
The differences between these two artistic geniuses lie in their backgrounds, which likely had an effect on their styles and approaches to their art. Hokusai was of an unknown lineage, while Hiroshige was born to a low-ranking samurai, a servant of the shogun whose job it was to protect Edo Castle from fire. Hokusai would then take almost 100 different names throughout his career and move from place to place, causing people to perceive him as crazy or unstable. Hiroshige, on the other hand, inherited his father’s job as a bureaucrat at the age of 13, but turned to art a year later. Perhaps due to this difference in his backgrounds, Hokusai seemed to be more dramatic in his engravings, painting with crisp, forceful lines and a range of colors, which is a complex technique in woodblock printing as they require a series of blocks. of wood. Hiroshige, however, placed more emphasis on mood, atmosphere, and ambience, which can make his paintings appear more subtle and passive. Another difference may be in the choice of theme. Hokusai is a Buddhist of the Nichiren sect with Mount Fuji considered a sacred place and his beliefs and spirituality are reflected in one of his most famous works, entitled “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” with Mount Fuji as the central theme. Hiroshige also painted Mount Fuji, but it is only as part of a scene captured on the road during his journey from Edo to Kyoto along the Tokaido Highway, which led to the paintings of one of his most famous works, “Fifty and two”. three stations of Tokaido. “In this sense, it can be said that Hokusai’s approach to his work is spiritual while Hiroshige’s is realistic.
With this understanding of the different styles of these two Japanese wood block artists, hopefully their work can be enjoyed and appreciated even more.