Masterpieces of Japanese Prints

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Masterpieces of Japanese Prints
Rupert Faulkner, Richard Lane, ...
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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 31, 2019 | History

Masterpieces of Japanese Prints

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Ever since Japan opened its doors to the West in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Westerners have been fascinated by the exquisite art forms that flourished during the previous two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Among the most intriguing were the bold yet refined paintings and prints known as ukiyo-e, which portrayed the popular pursuits of the time with extraordinary power. Such was the appeal of this unique art in the West that tens of thousands of superb prints eventually found their way into museum collections around the world.

The present volume highlights over 130 outstanding examples from the vast holdings of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Strikingly original and sumptuously colored, the ukiyo-e in these pages recapture the spirit of the period in which they were created. Here can be found the glamorous courtesans of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, the flamboyant vigor of kabuki theater, and the diversities of the Japanese landscape.

The prints form a breathtaking panorama of the world of ukiyo-e from its inception to its final flowering at the end of the nineteenth century. Complementary texts by Rupert Faulkner and Richard Lane illuminate the craft of woodblock print making and explore the emergence of such versatile geniuses as Hokusai and Hiroshige.

The lasting appeal of Japanese woodblock prints may be rooted in the richness of their imagery and the power of their innovation, or perhaps in their uncanny ability to convey the special vitality of Edo Japan. Whatever the case, this lavish volume seeks not only to pay homage to the Japanese artists and craftsmen who took the woodblock print to unprecedented heights, but also to show the range of this astonishingly versatile art form.

RUPERT FAULKNER is Deputy Curator in the Far Eastern Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where he has particular responsibility for the collections of Japanese art. Born in Yokohama in 1955 and subsequently educated in Britain, he graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Japanese studies. After joining the V&A in 1984, he set up a database system for recataloguing the V&A's extensive collection of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. He subsequently concentrated his attentions on contemporary Japanese studio crafts, building up the museum's collection in this area and organizing the exhibition, "Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition and the Avant-Garde." He is currently engaged in the publication of a book on the V&A's collection of ukiyo-e fan prints by Utagawa Hiroshige and a project to examine the relationship between Japanese food culture and the ceramic traditions of Seto and Mino.

RICHARD LANE is a leading American scholar of Japanese prints. He received degrees in Japanese language and literature at the University of Hawaii and Columbia University, doing graduate research at Tokyo, Waseda, and Kyoto universities as well as at the Tokyo National Museum. His publications include Masters of the Japanese Print: Their World and Their Work (1962), Images from the Floating World (1978), and Hokusai: Life and Work (1989), a definitive monograph in English on this major artist.

Publish Date
Publisher
V & A Publications
Pages
160

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Edition Availability
Cover of: Masterpieces of Japanese Prints
Masterpieces of Japanese Prints
April 2, 1997, V & A Publications
Hardcover
Cover of: Masterpieces of Japanese prints

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Book Details


The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
160

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL8972147M
ISBN 10
1851771018
ISBN 13
9781851771011
Library Thing
353673
Goodreads
2476762

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 31, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot associate edition with work OL15224934W
December 7, 2010 Edited by Alan Millar merge authors
August 10, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
April 30, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record