July 31, 2002

11:03 AM

Look no further than John Fiorillo's Viewing of Japanese Prints for the definitive online resource on the art. Covering over three centuries of Japanese print making from Ukiyo-e through Shin Hanga and Sôsaku Hanga, Viewing has detailed histories and critiques of the artists, including such legendary masters as Katsushika Hokusai. The site also includes a wealth of information on the artform itself, with essays on topics as varied as the deciphering of prints and the various forms of poetry found on them, as well as archival notes on print fading. Have a question for the man himself? Shogun Gallery's discussion board is one of his favorite haunts, where he helps users with questions ranging from signature identification to the allusions found within a specific print. Given the wealth of information and beauty of the work, this site's a treasure.
posted by J. R. Hughto (9 comments total)

Wonderful resource, thanks for posting it. I am going to blow off work and spend the rest of the day looking at this!
posted by sciatica at 11:10 AM on July 31, 2002

Well this promises to destroy productivity for the day. Excellent post.

Somewhat related, the local museum ran (and is still running, I believe) an exhibition seeking a connection between Toulouse-Lautrec's posters, 60s era rock posters, and Japanese woodblock prints. Good stuff, if eclectic.
posted by apostasy at 11:12 AM on July 31, 2002

< cmontgomeryburns> Excellent! < /cmontgomeryburns>
Wonderful post.
posted by y2karl at 11:26 AM on July 31, 2002

I've always been a big fan of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world). While Hokusai is the most familiar (who hasnt seen pictures of 'The Wave') I prefer Koryusai and his elegant depiction of human figures.
posted by vacapinta at 11:35 AM on July 31, 2002

Wow, just four or five years ago it was fairly difficult to find any quality historical information on Japanese prints (in English) on the net, then this page shows up. Excellent.
posted by bobo123 at 11:56 AM on July 31, 2002

While visiting France, I toured Monet's home/garden at Giverny. I was curious to see what kind of artwork he chose, they were all Japanese prints.

Thanks for the great site.
posted by bullitt 5 at 12:16 PM on July 31, 2002

Nice site! I think I stumbled on it once before looking for Shoson prints, but I never realized the depth of it. I also peruse hanga.com, a gallery of hanga prints. They're interested in buying and selling them, but also provide nice bios on artists and a gallery of their prints. And, it includes info on Bertha Lum, an American artist very much influenced by(/influential to?) the Japonism movement, and also one of my favorites. (Japonism influenced many, many 19th century artists, from van Gogh to James McNeil Whistler.)
posted by annekef at 12:39 PM on July 31, 2002

I'll chime in with the kudos here. I purchased two beautiful 120 year-old prints during my stay in Japan 15 years ago, and have always wanted to find out more about them. These are great resources for doing just that. Thanks!
posted by MrBaliHai at 12:43 PM on July 31, 2002

Excellent link. Might anyone have similar resources on Japanese painted screens?
posted by lackutrol at 1:17 PM on July 31, 2002