The word ukiyo
refers to the world of common people and e means
"picture." Thus when ukiyo-e first emerged
in the late sixteenth century, it usually depicted everyday life in the city of
Kyoto. In the eighteenth century, ukiyo-e became a
popular art form, though, thanks partly to advances in woodblock printing
techniques. Also, familiar subjects like kabuki actors and beautiful women came
to be depicted around this time. By that time ukiyoe became a Japan's popular
culture.
At around the end of the nineteenth
century, European painters came across ukiyo-e prints that were being used as
wrapping paper. They were struck very strongly by the expressive curves, bold
use of colors, and liberal designs of ukiyo-e.
Until then, European and U.S. artists
had never come across the sorts of techniques that ukiyo-e artists used.
Ukiyo-e thus had a great influence on such Impressionist painters as Vincent
van Gogh and Claude Monet.
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