Hope you enjoyed reading my previous Influenced posts (childhood favourites, adulthood favourites and films). I thought I’d start 2024 with another Influenced post.
As an illustrator, I often find inspirations from other art forms (e.g. painting, sculpture, posters, photography etc). I like Vermeer, Degas, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Edward Hopper, Rothko, Yevonde, Vivian Maier, David Hockney and more. But nothing is more influential to me than ukiyo-e.
Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) refers to a style of Japanese woodblock print and painting from the Edo period (1615 – 1868) depicting famous theatre actors, beautiful courtesans, city life, landscapes, and erotic scenes. Ukiyo-e literally means 'pictures of the floating world', referring to the brothel and theatre districts. Ukiyo-e prints were very popular because they could be produced quite cheaply in large numbers. Basically they were pin-ups, postcards and life magazines for masses.
It’s commonly said that in Edo Japan, anyone could own a masterpiece Ukiyo…
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