How Japanese Printmaking Influenced Western Art

By Jim Hingst 
@hingst_jim 

For centuries the Japanese shoguns enforced isolationism in their country. That does not mean that they did not conduct trading with the West. The Japanese leaders allowed some commerce with the Dutch through the port of Nagasaki. What was so special about the Dutch and got them access to Japanese markets was that they did not bring their missionaries and their ideology with them. Instead, they were all about the money, which was fine with the ruling class, because it didn’t threaten their culture or their influence over the masses.

Not until Commodore Matthew Perry floated into Tokyo harbor in 1853 did the gates to the Japanese markets burst wide open.  After Perry menacingly pointed the guns of his warship at the city, the shogun agreed to a trade deal allowing U.S. merchants access to the country’s ports. Soon afterwards, France, England and Russia forced Japan into signing similar treaties. The ruling Tokugawa family was powerless to resist Western demands. This appearance of weakness, when confronted by the foreign powers, directly lead to the end of their 250 year reign in the country, known as the Edo Period.

Japan adapted quickly to the changing times. At the same time that they were buying Western innovations, which they ingeniously reverse engineered and manufactured for themselves, they also were actively selling their products abroad.  By 1867 Japan was exhibiting its artwork at its own pavilion at the world’s fair in Paris. The printmaking of Hokusai and Hiroshige was one of the big sensations at the show.

Just as European art and technology influenced the modernization of Japan in the late 19^th century, Japanese designs and culture greatly inspired generations of artists. Much has been made of the influence of their printmaking on the Impressionists, Post Impressionists, Art Nouveau designers and the Cubists.

Video about the influence of Japanese art on Western Art

So inspired was Vincent van Gogh, that a couple of his paintings are close copies of the designs of the famous Japanese landscape artist, Hiroshige. ClaudeMonet, who had begun his collection of Japanese prints as early as the mid-1860’s, was also moved by their composition and use of color. In the layout of his famous garden at Giverny, Monet is said to have modeled much of it in the style of Japanese gardens, even including an arched Oriental bridge over his pond with waterlilies.

Flowering Plum Orchard by Vincent van Gogh replicates the design of
Japanese artist, Hiroshige (1887). Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, PD-1923.)

The conventions of Japanese art that most appealed to artists, such as MaryCassatt, Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, were the distinctly defined abstracted shapes of vibrant colors, combined with the use of diagonal lines and asymmetrical composition, which suggested movement and created a heightened sense of drama. 

In the late 1800s, the term Japonism was coined to describe the influence of Japan on Western art and culture. This influence was not limited to fine art. It affected fashion, ceramics, furniture design and the decorative arts. Europe fell so much in love with the Japanese style that they manufactured many knock-offs of their designs. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, isn’t it?

Just as the art of the Orient influenced Western artists, photography and innovations in printing technology had a tremendous impact on the designers and printers in Japan. Ironically, as the ukiyo-e prints ascended in popularity in Europe and the United States, the Paris exposition of 1867 marked its decline in Japan.  For better or for worse, Japan had embraced the modern ways of the West.

Suggested reading:

RELATED ARTICLES

What is Relief Printing?
What are Ukiyo-e Prints?

How do Woodblocks, Woodcuts and Wood Engravings Differ?

The Division of Labor in Ancient Japanese Print Production
Japanese Carving Tools for Woodblock Relief Printing
Japanese Carving Knives for Woodblock Printing
Safely Carving Woodblocks, Woodcuts and Linocuts
Linocut Tips
Selecting a Brayer for Relief Printing
Selecting Wood for Relief Printing
Selecting an Ink for Relief Printing
Inking the Woodblock Panel
Clean Up After Relief Printing

About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 400 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.  Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon. 

Slides of Jim's Artwork

© 2017 Jim Hingst