Focusing on the life and artistry of Ogata Korin, this study offers an in-depth exploration of his significant contributions to Edo period art. It presents a detailed analysis of his techniques and themes, revealing the profound impact he had on Japanese aesthetics. Through this intimate portrait, readers gain insight into Korin's creative process and the cultural context of his time, making it a vital resource for understanding his legacy in the art world.
Meet cat demons, skeletal ghosts, and the nine-tailed kitsune in this brilliant and beautifully illustrated volume of ghost imagery in traditional Japanese theater.Staging the Supernatural presents striking, eerie nineteenth-century woodblock prints from Japan that feature ghosts, demons, and other supernatural entities. The book digs into the country’s rich folkloric traditions and how they were brought to life on stage, with insightful essays that explore the depiction of spirits through the centuries, the relationship between printed images and cultural imagination, and how kabuki and Noh theater performances reflect Japan’s deep connection to and shifting notions of the supernatural.The detailed art invites readers to admire the artistic quality and techniques employed to accentuate supernaturalism, including embossing, mica application, and metallic pigments. The prints offer a window into Japan’s 19th-century pop culture and will appeal to fans of contemporary anime and manga, which is often influenced by these images. The book is artfully constructed, with an open spine exposing yellow-ochre thread stitching and a translucent vellum dustjacket printed with ghostly art that adds an ethereal touch. Equal part art and commentary, the book Spooky, fascinating, and fun, this is an ideal book for lovers of Japanese art, folklore, horror, and history.
Experience the breathtaking masterworks of one of the most influential artists in Japan's history. Hokusai's Brush is a companion to the Freer Gallery of Art's yearlong exhibition that celebrates the artist's fruitful career. The Freer, home to the world's largest collection of paintings by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, has put on view for the first time in a decade his incredible and rarely seen sketches, drawings, and paintings. Together with essays that explore his life and career, Hokusai's Brush offers an in-depth breakdown of each painting, providing amazing commentary that highlight Hokusai's mastery and detail. While best known for his woodblock print series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" and particularly the widely recognizable "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," Hokusai is said to have produced 30,000 pieces of art. He lived to ninety years old, and his last words were reportedly to say that if heaven were to grant him another five or ten years, then he could become a true painter. Every stunning page of Hokusai's Brush is a testament to the humility of that statement, emphasizing his artistry and skill, the likes of which shaped the Impressionist movement by inspiring artists such as Monet, Degas, and van Gogh.