Uki-e
Encyclopedia
Uki-e refers to a genre of Japanese woodblock print
that employs western conventions of linear perspective. Although they never constituted more than a minor genre, pictures in perspective were drawn and printed by Japanese artists from their introduction in the late 1730s through to the mid nineteenth century.
Around 1739, Okumura Masanobu
studied European engravings in order to learn the rules of perspective. His engravings found their way to Japan either through Dejima
or China. Masanobu was the first to apply the term Uki-e to perspective images, and Utagawa Toyoharu
fully developed the form in the late 1750s when he produced colored woodblock copies of engravings after Canaletto
and Guardi. Toyoharu was also the first to adapt these techniques to Japanese subjects.
The interior of Kabuki
theaters was a common subject in Uki-e prints. Interior scenes tend to be favored as it is easier to accurately apply one point perspective to architecture than to landscape.
Woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
that employs western conventions of linear perspective. Although they never constituted more than a minor genre, pictures in perspective were drawn and printed by Japanese artists from their introduction in the late 1730s through to the mid nineteenth century.
Around 1739, Okumura Masanobu
Okumura Masanobu
was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction. At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted beyond that. He is a figure in the formative era of ukiyo-e doing early works on actors and bijinga...
studied European engravings in order to learn the rules of perspective. His engravings found their way to Japan either through Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
or China. Masanobu was the first to apply the term Uki-e to perspective images, and Utagawa Toyoharu
Utagawa Toyoharu
Utagawa Toyoharu was a Japanese printmaker and founder of the Utagawa school. Born in the Kansai region of Japan, he studied in Kyoto under Tsuruzawa Tangei, a Kanō school painter, before moving to Edo in 1760. There he continued his studies under Toriyama Sekien...
fully developed the form in the late 1750s when he produced colored woodblock copies of engravings after Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
and Guardi. Toyoharu was also the first to adapt these techniques to Japanese subjects.
The interior of Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
theaters was a common subject in Uki-e prints. Interior scenes tend to be favored as it is easier to accurately apply one point perspective to architecture than to landscape.