Paul Cézanne

Vincent van Gogh is one of the world’s most well-known artists. He was the son of a pastor and was brought up in a religious atmosphere. He thought his true calling was to preach the gospel like his father. He became a preacher in a small coal mining town. This is when he starting becoming very interested in the people and things that surrounded him. He became an artist at the age of 27.

Japan is often recognized as a land of peace, beauty, and diverse landscapes and climates that cannot be witnessed anywhere else on the planet. A majority of Japanese citizens practice Shintoism, a polytheistic religion whose gods exist within plants and animals. Because of this, an appreciation for nature is ingrained deep into the foundation of Japan’s values. This can be seen throughout the country’s entire history; much of its art and poetry has been focused solely on its natural beauty. Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake is a famous Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige published in 1857, one of many that shows an appreciation for Japan’s beautiful landscapes. The print belongs the ukiyo-e genre that emerged between the 17th and 19th century. Ukiyo-e literally translates to “pictures of the floating world” and the style dominated the art of Japan’s Edo Period. What began as a reflection of Japan’s indulgent and hedonistic culture, portraying subjects like beautiful women and extravagant scenes from the Kabuki theater, gradually transitioned into capturing landscapes and the lives of average people. Hiroshige was one of the pioneers of this transition with his famed One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, a 119-piece series that features celebrated landscapes in his hometown of Edo, known as Tokyo today, and his last great success before his death. Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake is one of the pieces that belong to his series.

Paul Cézanne is often called the first modernist painter, and in his essay, “Cézanne and the Unity of Modern Art” Clement Greenberg, identifies Cézanne as the “most abundant generator of ideas and the most enduring in newness”(Greenberg,83). This, coming from one of the most influential art critics of the twentieth century, is not to be taken lightly. Cézanne was extremely influential to the modernist painters of the early twentieth, including Pablo Picasso and George Braque in their development of Cubism (Orfila,3). At the beginning of his career, Cézanne painted in the impressionist style that was common for the avant guard painters of the time, but he was disinterested in capturing the “transitory

Around the age of six years old, Hokusai began painting and even spent time as an apprentice wood-carver in his youth. He began the art of print making when he was eighteen. His most famous painting, The Great Wave, can be seen in museums all over the world even though Japan delayed it from catching on worldwide. Many believe that it was painted in the early 1800s, but Japan was not interacting culturally with other countries apart from trade with China and Korea. It wasn’t until 1859 when the Japanese were forced to open their ports that prints of The Wave spread across Europe. Originally, this piece wasn’t viewed as real art by Japanese politicians and art historians. Wood-block printing was used for commercial use and as a popular form of expression. The Japanese government wasn’t too thrilled “that such a seemingly lowbrow art form had come to define them” (15 Things). About five thousand to eight thousand prints were made but it is speculated that only a few hundreds of The Great Wave remain. The painting actually inspired music like Debussy’s La Mer.

“Primitivism” was a cultural attitude that arose in Europe during the late 19th and 20th century in opposition to the increasingly decadent and materialistic European culture. Rather than an artistic movement, “primitivism” is a European conception of foreign civilizations and lands as “simple”, less developed, and naive. This is an important distinction to make, because “primitivism” was defined in the eyes of the Europeans who saw foreign civilizations as unsophisticated, indicating that the concept of “primitivism” is heavily biased in the view of the Europeans. Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse were two artists that were highly influenced by the concept of “primitivism,” and some similarity can be depicted in their works such as the use of female nudes, vivid colors, and artistic techniques. However, their definition and methods of achieving “primitivism” differ heavily, due to the fact that the vagueness of “primitivism” allows it to be a self-defined concept. These similarities and differences can be seen through the two works of art The Spirit of the Dead Watching by Paul Gauguin, and The Blue Nude by Henri Matisse, and the way they depict women in each of the pieces.

French impressionists such as Gaugin, Manet and Monet are some of the many who were overcome by this bombardment of Asian art. Morimura has introduced wit into this work by substituting rose leaves in the place of fig leaves to hide his genitals. This can be seen as a form of revenge on Manet for he was a ‘pupil’ of Japanese art. This mystery of sexual identity also leads to a sense of intertextuality that stems from Morimura’s role as an androgynous critic.

Japan is been always known for their unique artstyle, but none is more influential on both Japanese and western cultural than Katsushika Hokusai. Many consider his paintings the pinnacle of art in the Edo period. The old man of many names is a true part of both japanese and art culture.

Vincent Van Gogh did not bat much of an eye towards the concept of Japonisme at first. It was not until his move to Paris in early 1886 that he became fully submerged/engaged within the idea Japanese art. It was in Paris where his eyes became open to artworks that were not specifically Western, Van Gogh had begun to see that the Oriental works “were equal to the great masterpieces of Western art history” (“Inspiration from Japan”). Prior to this point, his views towards Oriental art mirrored that of his brother as they believed that “Japanese art is something like the primitives” (“Inspiration from Japan”). The notion of viewing Japanese works of art as primitive could have been what sparked the interest of many artists of this time alongside Van Gogh and

Central Mountain by Wu Chen is an illustration of mountains that would ordinarily be seen as uninteresting, but with the use of ink on the handscroll, ordinary mountains become a piece of artwork which can be intruiging and interesting to the eye. Bushfire Coroboree Dreaming -Erna Monta Bushfire Coroboree Dreaming by Erna Monta is an Australian Aboriginal piece that symbolizes both the past and present ancestral existence found in Australia's landscape. With various shapes and irregular patterns, the rythem of this piece is irregular. "In Aboriginal art, the "Dreaming," or organizing principle, symbolizes the presence or mark of an ancestral being in the world."

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai is an important piece in the history of Japanese art because it illustrates how native Japanese aesthetics and beliefs continue to thrive in its own art, despite new, foreign influences and changing trends in what is deemed as beautiful. Similar to many other landscape woodblock prints, it demonstrates an influence from the west with its ability to produce a sense of realism, space, and depth. Such an influence, however, does not dominate over the native Japanese aesthetics, but is incorporated with them instead. One example is how the composition appears to be more heavily weighted on the left-hand side due to the large size of the cresting wave. The sense of asymmetry has its roots since ancient

The influence of Katsushika Hokusai’s artworks is tremendous and extensive in western art history. For instance, Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji inspired Claude Monet’s Haystack, Snow Effect in the year 1891. More specifically, as National Museum of Australia demonstrates that The technique of depiction of the forms about escarpment and lines of trees emerging in icy morning mists of Monet was came from In Shichirigahama in Sagami Province by Hokusai.

Meiji restoration brought about a lot of change, like a new drive for industrialization and a turn towards more western ideas. This would put Japanese art in a tough spot since more effort was put into industrialization of the country that a lack of partisans left only two schools left for artist, one of which was much more popular than the other, on the international level. The popular style was the westernized art in Japan. It wasn’t until American came in and saw the beauty in Japanese style of art that more funding came in to help support the classic style. This saved the Japanese style and opened two new schools for art in Japan. Now days, Japanese style of art is influential all over the world with other cultures.

Almost instantaneously recognizable, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (woodblock, 10 1/8 x 14 15/16 in, c. 1830-32), created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in 1830, beautifully captures the graceful, swelling movement of a crashing tsunami. Because of the way in which line and proportion are utilized, this woodblock print gracefully portrays the sheer power of the ocean. Derived from the Edo period in nineteenth century Japan, this classic was the first of a series of works from Hokusai titled Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, all of which effortlessly depict the mountain in a wide array of angles and scenery. Arguably, The Great Wave off Kanagawa is the most iconic and cherished piece of Japanese artwork in the world. Even more importantly, Hokusai is considered prominent father figure for both Japanese art, as well as Western modernization as a whole. The Great Wave truly displays how tiny and weak man is compared to the force of nature. Not only is The Great Wave a quintessential piece of art, but it established a piece in the comprehensive networks of art, trade, and politics, that has instilled a tremendous positive impact on the twenty first century.

big canvas that he called "The Joy of Life" is actually the announcement of this style. Although

This Paper will be an analysis of the development of Japanese landscape painting, analyzing the historical context behind these paintings and what led to the changes in style. Both of these paintings are representative of their specific culture during this rapidly changing time and these changes will be discussed in relation to the artwork. I am going to be discussing Japanese landscape painting, the outside influences shaping Japanese landscape painting but also focusing on the internal elements of Japanese culture shaping the style of artworks. The changing techniques and styles as well as the changing political climate will all be looked at.