Japanese Woodblock Print Artists – Hokusai and Hiroshige Compared
A famous art genre is Japanese woodblock prints, known as ukiyo-e, which literally means “images of the floating world.” It is an art genre that originated in the 1600s and became popular with ordinary citizens of Japan because the relative ease of reproduction meant that these prints were affordable for the general population. The subject of these Japanese woodblock prints were mainly scenes and people from the entertainment and pleasure quarters in Edo (now Tokyo), that is, the theaters and brothels. In fact, ukiyo-e was used as advertising posters for the geishas, ​​courtesans, and kabuki actors who work in those establishments.
In the late 1700s, ukiyo-e woodblock prints branched out to include landscape prints. Two contemporaries who stood out in this period are Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige, although the latter was 37 years younger than the former. Both were famous for their landscape prints, although both also painted more “traditional” subjects of women and actors. At first glance, the works of these two masters may seem very similar in style and subject matter, including scenes from Edo and Mount Fuji. Unless one is familiar with their work, it can be difficult to tell them apart and see the differences that become more apparent upon close inspection. Furthermore, the works of these two masters influenced some renowned European artists: Hokusai’s works influenced Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Hermann Obrist, while Hiroshige clearly influenced Vincent Van Gogh and Ivan Bilibin. Both men also inspired and influenced a whole new art movement: Jugendstil in Germany and Mir Iskusstva in Russia, respectively.
The differences between these two artistic geniuses lie in their backgrounds, which likely had an effect on their styles and approaches to their art. Hokusai was from an obscure family, while Hiroshige was born to a low-ranking samurai, a servant of the shogun and whose job it was to protect Edo castle from fire. Hokusai would later go on to take almost 100 different names throughout his career and move from place to place causing people to perceive him as crazy or unstable. Hiroshige, on the other hand, inherited his father’s job as a bureaucrat at the age of 13, but turned to art a year later. Perhaps because of this difference in their backgrounds, Hokusai seemed to be more dramatic in his prints, painting with sharp, forceful lines and a range of colors, which is a complex technique in woodblock printing, requiring a series of woodblocks. . Hiroshige, however, placed more emphasis on mood, atmosphere, and setting, which can make his paintings seem more subtle and passive. Another difference may be in the choice of subject. Hokusai is a Buddhist of the Nichiren sect with Mount Fuji considered a sacred site and his beliefs and spirituality are reflected in one of his most famous works, entitled “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” with Mount Fuji as the central theme. . Hiroshige also painted Mount Fuji, but it is only as part of a scene captured on the road during his journey from Edo to Kyoto along the Tokaido Highway, which led to the paintings of one of his most famous works, “Fifty – three stations of Tokaido”. In this sense, it can be said that Hokusai’s approach to his work is spiritual while Hiroshige’s is realistic.
With this understanding of the different styles of these two Japanese woodcut artists, it is hoped that their work can be further enjoyed and appreciated.
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