Famous Ukiyo-e prints all in one location
Ukiyo-e is an iconic form of Japanese art that enjoyed immense popularity among the urban populace during the Edo period (1603-1868). Its popularity eventually spread to the West, where it profoundly influenced the Impressionist painters and other artists and sparked a craze for Japanese art known as Japonisme. Today, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai is among the most recognizable works of Japanese art in the world.
Hokusai and Hiroshige are known for their astonishing landscape art. The famous piece “The Great Wave” is undoubtedly Hokusai’s most famous piece.
Hiroshige is not as famous outside of Japan but his art is often seen in Japan. It has a distinct flair and is easily recognizable once one is aware of the artist.
A large-scale exhibition featuring masterpieces of five popular ukiyo-e artists—Kitagawa Utamaro, Toshusai Sharaku, Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi—collected from inside and outside Japan will be displayed at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Nagoya. The excellent works selected according to the favorite motifs of the five maestros—the “beauties” of Utamaro, “actors” of Sharaku, “landscapes” and “flowers and birds” of Hokusai and Hiroshige, and “warriors” and “caricatures” of Kuniyoshi—will invite you to fully enjoy the essence of the beauty of ukiyo-e, which have long fascinated the world.
Dates: Friday, April 3 to Sunday, May 31, 2020
Venue: Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (10F, the Aichi Arts Center), Nagoya
Website: https://dai-ukiyoe.jp/english.html
If you miss the above exhibition then go for the next one:
This exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum will, for the first time, unite masterpieces from the Ōta Memorial Museum of Art, Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, and Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation, what are reputed to be the three great collections of ukiyo-e in Japan both in quality and volume.
Some 450 carefully selected ukiyo-e prints will be exhibited. Despite the perception that many ukiyo-e masterpieces flowed out of the country, world-class collections of ukiyo-e in fact exist in Japan. We invite you to enjoy famed works by representative ukiyo-e master artists of all periods from the 17th through 19th centuries.
Dates: 23 July, 2020 – 13 September, 2020
Venue: TOKYO METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM
Website: https://www.tobikan.jp/en/exhibition/2020_ukiyoe.html
