Contemporary Japanese artists. Japanese paintings: all the subtleties of oriental painting
Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!
Japanese artists have a unique style, honed by entire generations of masters. Today we will talk about the most prominent representatives of Japanese painting and their paintings, from ancient times to modern times.
Well, let's plunge into the art of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Birth of Art
The ancient art of painting in Japan is primarily associated with the peculiarities of writing and is therefore built on the foundations of calligraphy. The first samples include fragments of bronze bells, dishes, and household items found during excavations. Many of them were painted with natural paints, and research gives reason to believe that the products were made earlier than 300 BC.
A new round of art development began with the arrival in Japan. Images of deities of the Buddhist pantheon, scenes from the life of the Teacher and his followers were applied to emakimono - special paper scrolls.
The predominance of religious themes in painting can be traced in medieval Japan, namely from the 10th to the 15th centuries. The names of the artists of that era, alas, have not survived to this day.
In the period of the 15th-18th centuries, a new time began, characterized by the emergence of artists with a developed individual style. They designated the vector further development visual arts.
Bright representatives of the past
Tense Xubun (early 15th century)
In order to become outstanding master, Xiubun studied the writing techniques of China's Song artists and their works. Subsequently, he became one of the founders of painting in Japan and the creator of sumi-e.
Sumi-e is an art style that is based on drawing in ink, which means one color.
Xubun did a lot to a new style took root in artistic circles. He taught art to other talents, including future famous painters, for example Sesshu.
The most popular painting Syubuna is called “Reading in the Bamboo Grove.”
"Reading in the Bamboo Grove" by Tense Xubun
Hasegawa Tohaku (1539–1610)
He became the creator of a school named after himself - Hasegawa. At first he tried to follow the canons of the Kano school, but gradually his individual “handwriting” began to be traced in his works. Tohaku was guided by Sesshu graphics.
The basis of the works were simple, laconic, but realistic landscapes with simple titles:
- "Pines";
- "Maple";
- "Pines and flowering plants».
"Pines" by Hasegawa Tohaku
Brothers Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)
The brothers were excellent craftsmen of the 18th century. The eldest, Ogata Korin, devoted himself entirely to painting and founded the rimpa genre. He avoided stereotypical images, giving preference to the impressionist genre.
Ogata Korin painted nature in general and flowers in the form of bright abstractions in particular. His brushes belong to the paintings:
- "Plum blossom red and white";
- "Waves of Matsushima";
- "Chrysanthemums".
"Waves of Matsushima" by Ogata Korin
The younger brother, Ogata Kenzan, had many pseudonyms. Although he was engaged in painting, he was famous more as a wonderful ceramist.
Ogata Kenzan mastered many techniques for creating ceramics. He was distinguished non-standard approach, for example, he created plates in the form of a square.
His own painting was not distinguished by splendor - this was also his peculiarity. He loved to apply scroll-like calligraphy or excerpts from poetry onto his items. Sometimes they worked together with their brother.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
He created in the style of ukiyo-e - a kind of woodcut, in other words, engraving painting. During his entire career, he changed about 30 names. The most famous work is “ A big wave in Kanagawa", thanks to which he became famous outside his homeland.
"The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Hokusai Katsushika
Hokusai began to work especially hard after the age of 60, which brought good results. Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir were familiar with his work, and to a certain extent it influenced the work of European masters.
Ando Hiroshige (1791-1858)
One of the greatest artists of the 19th century. He was born, lived, and worked in Edo, continued the work of Hokusai, and was inspired by his works. The way he depicted nature is almost as impressive as the number of works themselves.
Edo is the former name of Tokyo.
Here are some figures about his work, which are represented by a series of paintings:
- 5.5 thousand – the number of all engravings;
- “100 Views of Edo;
- "36 views of Fuji";
- "69 stations of Kisokaido";
- "53 Tokaido Stations."
Painting by Ando Hiroshige
Interestingly, the eminent Van Gogh painted a couple of copies of his engravings.
Modernity
Takashi Murakami
An artist, sculptor, clothing designer, he earned a name already at the end of the 20th century. In creativity he adheres to fashion trends with classic elements, and draws inspiration from anime and manga cartoons.
Painting by Takashi Murakami
The works of Takashi Murakami are considered a subculture, but at the same time they are incredibly popular. For example, in 2008, one of his works was bought at auction for more than 15 million dollars. At one time, the modern creator worked together with fashion houses Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.
Quiet Ashima
A colleague of the previous artist, she creates modern surreal paintings. They depict views of cities, streets of megalopolises and creatures as if from another universe - ghosts, evil spirits, alien girls. In the background of paintings you can often notice pristine, sometimes even frightening nature.
Her paintings reach large sizes and are rarely limited to paper media. They are transferred to leather and plastic materials.
In 2006, as part of an exhibition in the British capital, a woman created about 20 arched structures that reflected the beauty of the nature of the village and city, day and night. One of them decorated a metro station.
Hey Arakawa
The young man cannot be called just an artist in the classical sense of the word - he creates installations that are so popular in the art of the 21st century. The themes of his exhibitions are truly Japanese and touch on friendly relations, as well as work by the whole team.
Hei Arakawa often participates in various biennales, for example, in Venice, exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art in his homeland, and deservedly receives various kinds of awards.
Ikenaga Yasunari
The contemporary painter Ikenaga Yasunari managed to combine two seemingly incompatible things: the lives of modern girls in portrait form and traditional techniques Japan comes from ancient times. In his work, the painter uses special brushes, natural pigmented paints, ink, and charcoal. Instead of the usual linen - linen fabric.
Painting of Ikenaga Yasunari
This technique of contrasting the depicted era and the appearance of the heroines creates the impression that they have returned to us from the past.
Popular in Lately in the online community, a series of paintings about the complexities of a crocodile’s life were also created by the Japanese cartoonist Keigo.
Conclusion
So, Japanese painting began around the 3rd century BC, and has changed a lot since then. The first images were applied to ceramics, then Buddhist motifs began to predominate in the arts, but the names of the authors have not survived to this day.
In the modern era, masters of the brush acquired more and more individuality, created different directions, schools. Today's fine art is not limited to traditional painting– installations, caricatures, art sculptures, and special structures are used.
Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! We hope you found our article useful, and the stories about the life and work of the brightest representatives of art allowed you to get to know them better.
Of course, it is difficult to talk about all the artists from antiquity to the present in one article. Therefore, let this be the first step towards understanding Japanese painting.
And join us - subscribe to the blog - we will study Buddhism and Eastern culture together!
Art and design
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01.02.18 09:02
Today's art scene Japan is very diverse and provocative: looking at the works of masters from the Land of the Rising Sun, you will decide that you have arrived on another planet! Home to innovators who have changed the landscape of the industry on a global scale. Here's a list of 10 contemporary Japanese artists and their creations, from the incredible creatures of Takashi Murakami (who celebrates his birthday today) to the colorful universe of Kusama.
From futuristic worlds to dotted constellations: contemporary Japanese artists
Takashi Murakami: traditionalist and classic
Let's start with the hero of the occasion! Takashi Murakami is one of Japan's most iconic contemporary artists, working on paintings, large-scale sculptures and fashion clothing. Murakami's style is influenced by manga and anime. He is the founder of the Superflat movement, supporting Japanese artistic traditions and the post-war culture of the country. Murakami promoted many of his fellow contemporaries, and we will also meet some of them today. “Subcultural” works of Takashi Murakami are presented in the art markets of fashion and art. His provocative My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) was sold in New York at Sotheby's in 2008 for a record $15.2 million. Murakami collaborated with the world famous brands Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton and Issey Miyake.
Quietly Ashima and her surreal universe
A member of the art production company Kaikai Kiki and the Superflat movement (both founded by Takashi Murakami), Chicho Ashima is known for her fantastical cityscapes and strange pop creatures. The artist creates surreal dreams inhabited by demons, ghosts, young beauties depicted in the background outlandish nature. Her works are usually large-scale and printed on paper, leather, and plastic. In 2006, this contemporary Japanese artist participated in Art on the Underground in London. She created 17 consecutive arches for the platform - the magical landscape gradually turned from daytime to nighttime, from urban to rural. This miracle bloomed at Gloucester Road tube station.
Chiharu Shima and the endless threads
Another artist, Chiharu Shiota, works on large-scale visual installations for specific landmarks. She was born in Osaka, but now lives in Germany - in Berlin. The central themes of her work are oblivion and memory, dreams and reality, past and present, and also the confrontation of anxiety. The most famous works Chiharu Shiota - impenetrable networks of black thread, covering many household and personal objects - such as old chairs, Wedding Dress, burnt piano. In the summer of 2014, Shiota tied together donated shoes and boots (of which there were more than 300) with strands of red yarn and hung them on hooks. Chiharu's first exhibition in the German capital took place during Berlin Art Week in 2016 and caused a sensation.
Hey Arakawa: everywhere, nowhere
Hei Arakawa is inspired by states of change, periods of instability, elements of risk, and his installations often symbolize themes of friendship and teamwork. The credo of the contemporary Japanese artist is defined by the performative, indefinite “everywhere, but nowhere.” His creations appear in unexpected places. In 2013, Arakawa's works were exhibited at the Venice Biennale and in the exhibition of Japanese contemporary art at the Mori Museum of Art (Tokyo). Installation Hawaiian Presence (2014) was joint project with New York artist Carissa Rodriguez and participated in the Whitney Biennial. Also in 2014, Arakawa and his brother Tomu, performing as a duo called United Brothers, offered visitors to Frieze London their “work” “The This Soup Taste Ambivalent” with “radioactive” Fukushima daikon root vegetables.
Koki Tanaka: Relationships and Repetitions
In 2015, Koki Tanaka was recognized as “Artist of the Year”. Tanaka explores the shared experience of creativity and imagination, encourages exchange between project participants, and advocates for new rules of collaboration. Its installation in the Japanese pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale consisted of a video of objects transforming the room into a platform for artistic exchange. The installations of Koki Tanaka (not to be confused with his full namesake actor) illustrate the relationship between objects and actions, for example, the video contains recordings of simple gestures performed with ordinary objects (a knife cutting vegetables, beer being poured into a glass, opening an umbrella). Nothing significant happens, but obsessive repetition and attention to to the smallest details make the viewer appreciate the worldly.
Mariko Mori and streamlined shapes
Another contemporary Japanese artist, Mariko Mori, “conjures” multimedia objects, combining videos, photographs, and objects. She is characterized by a minimalist futuristic vision and sleek surreal forms. A recurring theme in Mori's work is the juxtaposition of Western legend with Western culture. In 2010, Mariko founded the Fau Foundation, an educational cultural non-profit organization, for which she produced a series of her art installations in honor of the six inhabited continents. Most recently, the Foundation's permanent installation "Ring: One with Nature" was erected over a picturesque waterfall in Resende near Rio de Janeiro.
Ryoji Ikeda: sound and video synthesis
Ryoji Ikeda is a new media artist and composer whose work primarily deals with sound in various “raw” states, from sine waves to noise using frequencies at the edge of human hearing. His immersive installations include computer-generated sounds that are visually transformed into video projections or digital patterns. Ikeda's audiovisual art uses scale, light, shadow, volume, electronic sounds and rhythm. The artist's famous test facility consists of five projectors that illuminate an area 28 meters long and 8 meters wide. The setup converts data (text, sounds, photos and movies) into barcodes and binary patterns of ones and zeros.
Tatsuo Miyajima and LED counters
Contemporary Japanese sculptor and installation artist Tatsuo Miyajima uses electrical circuits, videos, computers and other gadgets in his art. Miyajima's core concepts are inspired by humanistic ideas and Buddhist teachings. The LED counters in his installations flash continuously in repetition from 1 to 9, symbolizing the journey from life to death, but avoiding the finality that is represented by 0 (zero never appears in Tatsuo's work). The ubiquitous numbers in grids, towers, and diagrams express Miyajima's interest in ideas of continuity, eternity, connection, and the flow of time and space. Recently, Miyajima's "Arrow of Time" was shown at the inaugural exhibition "Unfinished Thoughts Visible in New York."
Nara Yoshimoto and the evil children
Nara Yoshimoto creates paintings, sculptures, and drawings of children and dogs—subjects that reflect childhood feelings of boredom and frustration and the fierce independence that comes naturally to toddlers. The aesthetic of Yoshimoto's work is reminiscent of traditional book illustrations, a mixture of restless tension and the artist's love of punk rock. In 2011, the Asia Society Museum in New York hosted Yoshimoto’s first solo exhibition, entitled “Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool,” covering the 20-year career of the contemporary Japanese artist. The exhibits were closely related to global youth subcultures and their alienation and protest.
Yayoi Kusama and space growing into strange forms
The amazing creative biography of Yayoi Kusama lasts seven decades. During this time, the amazing Japanese woman managed to study the fields of painting, graphics, collage, sculpture, cinema, engraving, environmental art, installation, as well as literature, fashion and clothing design. Kusama developed a very distinctive style of dot art that has become her trademark. The illusory visions depicted in 88-year-old Kusama's work—where the world appears to be covered in sprawling, outlandish forms—are the result of hallucinations she has experienced since childhood. Rooms with colorful dots and “infinity” mirrors reflecting their clusters are recognizable and cannot be confused with anything else.
Yayoi Kusama is unlikely to be able to answer what formed the basis of her career as an artist. She is 87 years old, her art is recognized throughout the world. There will soon be major exhibitions of her work in the US and Japan, but she hasn't told the world everything yet. “It’s still on its way. I'm going to create this in the future," Kusama says. She is called the most successful artist in Japan. In addition, she is the most expensive living artist: in 2014, her painting “White No. 28” was sold for $7.1 million.
Kusama lives in Tokyo and has been voluntarily staying in a mental hospital for almost forty years. Once a day she leaves its walls to paint. She gets up at three o'clock in the morning, unable to sleep and wanting to spend her time productively at work. "I'm old now, but I'm still going to create more work And best works. More than I've done in the past. My mind is full of pictures,” she says.
(Total 17 photos)
Yayoi Kusama at an exhibition of his work in London in 1985. Photo: NILS JORGENSEN/REX/Shutterstock
From nine to six, Kusama works in his three-story studio from the comfort of a wheelchair. She can walk, but is too weak. A woman works on canvas laid out on tables or fixed to the floor. The studio is full of new paintings, bright works strewn with small specks. The artist calls this "self-silencing" - endless repetition that drowns out the noise in her head.
Before the 2006 Praemium Imperiale art awards in Tokyo. Photo: Sutton-Hibbert/REX/Shutterstock
Across the street will open soon new gallery, and another museum of her art is being built north of Tokyo. In addition, two major exhibitions of her work are opening. “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors,” a retrospective of her 65-year career, opened at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington on February 23 and runs through May 14, before traveling to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto and Cleveland. The exhibition includes 60 paintings by Kusama.
Her polka dots cover everything from Louis Vuitton dresses to buses in her hometown. Kusama's work regularly sells for millions of dollars and can be found all over the world, from New York to Amsterdam. Exhibitions of the Japanese artist's works are so popular that measures are required to prevent crowds and riots. For example, in the Hirshhorn, tickets to the exhibition are sold at certain time in order to somehow regulate the flow of visitors.
Presentation of the joint design of Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama in New York in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
But Kusama still needs outside approval. When asked in an interview whether she achieved her goal of becoming rich and famous decades ago, she said in surprise: “When I was little, I had a very hard time convincing my mother that I wanted to become an artist. Is it really true that I'm rich and famous?
Kusama was born in Matsumoto, in the mountains of central Japan, in 1929 into a wealthy and conservative family that sold seedlings. But it wasn't happy House. Her mother despised her cheating husband and sent little Kusama to spy on him. The girl saw her father with other women, and this gave her a lifelong aversion to sex.
Louis Vuitton boutique window designed by Kusama in 2012. Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFA/REX/Shutterstock
As a child, she began experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations. The first time she saw the pumpkin, she imagined that it was talking to her. The future artist coped with the visions by creating repeating patterns to drown out the thoughts in her head. Even at such a young age, art became a kind of therapy for her, which she would later call “art medicine.”
Work by Yayoi Kusama on display at the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
Kusama's mother was strongly opposed to her daughter's desire to become an artist and insisted that the girl follow the traditional path. “She wouldn’t let me draw. She wanted me to get married,” the artist said in an interview. - She threw away my work. I wanted to throw myself under a train. Every day I fought with my mother, and therefore my mind was damaged.”
In 1948, after the end of the war, Kusama went to Kyoto to study traditional Japanese nihonga painting with strict rules. She hated this type of art.
One of the exhibits from the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art in 2012. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency/REX/Shutterstock
When Kusama lived in Matsumoto, she found a book by Georgia O'Keeffe and was amazed by its paintings. The girl went to the American embassy in Tokyo to find an article about O’Keefe in the directory there and find out her address. Kusama wrote her a letter and sent her some drawings, and to her surprise, the American artist replied to her.
“I couldn’t believe my luck! She was so kind that she responded to the sudden outburst of feelings from the modest Japanese girls, whom she had never met in her life or even heard of,” the artist wrote in her autobiography “Infinity Net.”
Yayoi Kusama in her Louis Vuitton boutique window display in New York in 2012. Photo: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock
Despite O'Keeffe's warnings that life was very difficult for young artists in the United States, not to mention single young girls in Japan, Kusama was unstoppable. In 1957, she managed to obtain a passport and visa. She sewed dollars into her dresses to circumvent strict post-war currency controls.
The first stop was Seattle, where she held an exhibition in a small gallery. Then Kusama went to New York, where she was bitterly disappointed. “Unlike post-war Matsumoto, New York was in every sense an evil and violent place. It turned out to be too stressful for me, and I soon became mired in neurosis.” To make matters worse, Kusama found herself in complete poverty. An old door served as her bed, and she fished fish heads and rotten vegetables from trash cans to make soup from.
Installation Infinity Mirror Room - Love Forever (“Room with infinity mirrors - love forever”). Photo: Tony Kyriacou/REX/Shutterstock
This difficult situation prompted Kusama to immerse himself in his work even more. She began creating her first paintings in the Infinity Net series, covering huge canvases (one of them was 10 meters high) with mesmerizing waves of small loops that seemed to never end. The artist herself described them as follows: “White networks enveloping the black dots of silent death against the backdrop of the hopeless darkness of nothingness.”
Installation by Yayoi Kusama at the opening of the new building of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture in Moscow in 2015. Photo: David X Prutting/BFA.com/REX/Shutterstock
This obsessive-compulsive repetition helped drive away the neurosis, but it did not always save. Kusama constantly suffered from bouts of psychosis and ended up in a New York hospital. Ambitious and determined, and happily accepting the role of an exotic Asian woman in a kimono, she joined the circle of influential people in the arts and associated with such recognized artists as Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol. Kusama later said that Warhol imitated her work.
Kusama soon gained a degree of fame and exhibited in crowded galleries. In addition, the artist’s fame became scandalous.
In the 1960s, while Kusama was obsessed with polka dots, she began staging happenings in New York City, encouraging people to strip naked in places like Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge and painting their bodies with polka dots.
Pre-display at Art Basel in Hong Kong in 2013. Photo: Billy Farrell/BFA/REX/Shutterstock
Decades before the Occupy Wall Street movement, Kusama staged a happening in New York's financial district, declaring that she wanted to "destroy the men of Wall Street with polka dots." Around this time, she began to cover various objects - a chair, a boat, a stroller - with phallic-looking protuberances. “I started creating penises to cure my feelings of aversion to sex,” the artist wrote, describing how this creative process gradually turning the terrible into something familiar.
Installation "Passing Winter" at the Tate Gallery in London. Photo: James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock
Kusama never married, although she had a marriage-like relationship with artist Joseph Cornell for ten years while living in New York. “I didn’t like sex, and he was impotent, so we suited each other very well,” she said in an interview with Art Magazine.
Kusama became increasingly famous for her antics: she offered to sleep with US President Richard Nixon if he would end the war in Vietnam. “Let’s decorate each other with polka dots,” she wrote to him in a letter. Interest in her art itself faded away, she found herself out of favor, and money problems began again.
Yayoi Kusama during a retrospective of her work at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2012. Photo: Steve Eichner/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock
News of Kusama's escapades reached Japan. They began to call her a “national disaster,” and her mother said that it would be better if her daughter died of the disease in childhood. In the early 1970s, impoverished and failed, Kusama returned to Japan. She registered in a psychiatric hospital, where she still lives, and sank into artistic obscurity.
In 1989, the Center for Contemporary Art in New York staged a retrospective of her work. This was the beginning, albeit slow, of a revival of interest in Kusama’s art. She filled a mirrored room with pumpkins for an installation that was featured at Venice Biennale in 1993, and in 1998 it took place major exhibition at the Museum of Modern art MoMa in NYC. This is where she once staged a happening.
At the exhibition My Eternal Soul at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
Over the past few years, Yayoi Kusama has become an international phenomenon. Modern gallery The Tate in London and the Whitney Museum in New York held major retrospectives that attracted huge crowds of visitors, and her iconic polka dot pattern became highly recognizable.
At the exhibition My Eternal Soul at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
The artist has no plans to stop working, but has begun to think about her mortality. “I don’t know how long I can survive even after death. There is a future generation that follows in my footsteps. It would be an honor for me if people enjoy looking at my work and if they are moved by my art.”
At the exhibition My Eternal Soul at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
Despite the commercialization of her art, Kusama thinks about the grave in Matsumoto - not in family crypt, she already got it from her parents - and how not to turn her into a sanctuary. “But I’m not dying yet. I think I will live another 20 years,” she says.
At the exhibition My Eternal Soul at the National Art Center in Tokyo, February 2017. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock
Japanese classical painting has a long and interesting history. The fine arts of Japan are presented in different styles and genres, each of which is unique in its own way. Ancient painted figurines and geometric motifs found on bronze dotaku bells and pottery shards date back to 300 AD.
Buddhist orientation of art
The art of wall painting was quite well developed in Japan; in the 6th century, images on the theme of Buddhist philosophy were especially popular. At that time, large temples were being built in the country, and their walls were everywhere decorated with frescoes painted based on scenes from Buddhist myths and legends. Ancient examples of wall paintings are still preserved in the Horyuji Temple near the Japanese city of Nara. Horyuji murals depict scenes from the life of Buddha and other gods. The artistic style of these murals is very close to the pictorial concept popular in China during the Song Dynasty.
The painting style of the Tang Dynasty gained particular popularity in the middle of the Nara period. The frescoes discovered in the Takamatsuzuka tomb date back to around the 7th century AD from this period. The artistic technique, formed under the influence of the Tang dynasty, subsequently formed the basis of the painting genre of kara-e. This genre maintained its popularity until the appearance of the first works in the Yamato-e style. Most of the frescoes and painting masterpieces belong to the brush unknown authors, today many of the works from that period are kept in the Sesoin treasury.
The growing influence of new Buddhist schools such as Tendai influenced the broad religious focus of Japanese fine art in the 8th and 9th centuries. In the 10th century, which saw a special progress in Japanese Buddhism, the genre of raigozu, “welcome paintings” appeared, which depicted the arrival of Buddha in the Western Paradise. Early examples of raigozu, dating back to 1053, can be seen at the Bedo-in Temple, which survives in the city of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.
Changing styles
In the middle of the Heian period it was replaced by Chinese kara-e style The Yamato-e genre comes, which for a long time becomes one of the most popular and sought-after genres of Japanese painting. The new pictorial style was mainly used in painting folding screens and sliding doors. Over time, yamato-e also moved to horizontal emakimono scrolls. Artists who worked in the emaki genre tried to convey in their works all the emotionality of the chosen plot. The Genji-monogatari scroll consisted of several episodes connected together, artists of that time used quick strokes and bright, expressive colors.
E-maki is one of the oldest and most outstanding examples Otoko-e, a genre of depicting male portraits. Portraits of women are highlighted in separate genre onna-uh. Between these genres, in fact, just like between men and women, quite significant differences are visible. The onna-e style is colorfully represented in the design of the Tale of Genji, where the main themes of the drawings are romantic subjects and scenes from court life. Men's style otoko-e is predominantly artistic image historical battles and others important events in the life of the empire.
The classical Japanese art school became fertile soil for the development and promotion of the ideas of contemporary art in Japan, in which the influence of pop culture and anime can be clearly seen. One of the most famous Japanese artists of our time can be called Takashi Murakami, whose work is dedicated to depicting scenes from Japanese life. post-war period and the concept of maximum fusion fine art and mainstream.
From famous Japanese artists classical school we can name the following.
Tense Xubun
Syubun worked at the beginning of the 15th century, devoting a lot of time to studying the works Chinese masters era of the Song Dynasty, this man stood at the origins of the Japanese visual genre. Shubun is considered the founder of the sumi-e style, monochrome ink painting. He made a lot of efforts to popularize the new genre, turning it into one of the leading areas of Japanese painting. Syubun's students were many who later became famous artists, including Sesshu and the founder of the famous art school, Kano Masanobu. Many landscapes were attributed to Xubun, but his most famous work is traditionally considered “Reading in a Bamboo Grove.”
Ogata Korin (1658-1716)
Ogata Korin is one of the greatest artists in the history of Japanese painting, the founder and one of the brightest representatives artistic style rimpa. Korine boldly moved away from traditional stereotypes in his works, forming his own style, the main characteristics of which were small forms and bright impressionism of the plot. Korin is known for his special skill in depicting nature and working with abstract color compositions. "Plum blossom red and white" is one of the most famous works Ogata Korina, his paintings “Chrysanthemums”, “Waves of Matsushima” and a number of others are also known.
Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610)
Tohaku is the founder of the Japanese Hasegawa school of art. For early period Tohaku's creativity is characterized by the influence of the famous school of Japanese painting 
Kano, but over time the artist formed his own unique style. In many ways, Tohaku’s work was influenced by the works of the recognized master Sesshu; Hosegawa even considered himself the fifth successor of this great master. Hasegawa Tohaku’s painting “Pines” has gained worldwide fame; his works “Maple”, “Pines and Flowering Plants” and others are also known.
Kano Eitoku (1543-1590)
The Kano school style dominated the visual arts of Japan for about four centuries, and Kano Eitoku is perhaps one of the most famous and prominent representatives this art school. Eitoku was favored by the authorities, the patronage of aristocrats and wealthy patrons could not but contribute to the strengthening of his school and the popularity of his works, no doubt very much talented artist. The eight-panel Cypress sliding screen, painted by Eitoku Kano, is a true masterpiece and a shining example of the scope and power of the Monoyama style. Other works by the master, such as “Birds and Trees of the Four Seasons”, “Chinese Lions”, “Hermits and a Fairy” and many others, look no less interesting.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
Hokusai – greatest master genre of ukiyo-e (Japanese woodcut). Hokusai's creativity received global recognition, his fame in other countries is not comparable to that of most Asian artists, his work "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" has become something of a business card Japanese fine art on the world art scene. On your own creative path Hokusai used more than thirty pseudonyms; after sixty, the artist devoted himself entirely to art, and it was this time that is considered the most fruitful period his creativity. Hokusai's works influenced creativity Western masters impressionism and the post-impressionist period, including the works of Renoir, Monet and van Gogh.
Every country has its heroes contemporary art, whose names are well-known, whose exhibitions attract crowds of fans and curious people, and whose works are sold to private collections.
In this article we will introduce you to the most popular contemporary artists Japan.
Keiko Tanabe
Born in Kyoto, Keiko won many victories as a child. art competitions, but she received her higher education not in the field of art. Worked in the department international relations worked at a Japanese local government trade organization in Tokyo, at a large law firm in San Francisco, and at a private consulting firm in San Diego, and traveled extensively. Starting in 2003, she left her job and, having studied the basics of watercolor painting in San Diego, devoted herself exclusively to art.
Ikenaga Yasunari
Japanese artist Ikenaga Yasunari paints portraits modern women in the ancient Japanese painting tradition, using a Menso brush, mineral pigments, carbon black, ink and linen as a base. Its characters are women of our time, but thanks to Nihonga's style, you get the feeling that they came to us from time immemorial.
Abe Toshiyuki
Abe Toshiyuki is a realist artist who has perfectly mastered the watercolor technique. Abe can be called an artist-philosopher: he fundamentally does not paint famous landmarks, preferring subjective compositions that reflect internal states the person who is watching them.
Hiroko Sakai
The career of artist Hiroko Sakai began in the early 90s in the city of Fukuoka. After graduating from Seinan Gakuin University and the French Nihon School of Interior Design in design and visualization, she founded Atelier Yume-Tsumugi Ltd. and successfully managed this studio for 5 years. Many of her works decorate hospital lobbies and offices. large corporations and some municipal buildings in Japan. After moving to the United States, Hiroko began painting in oils.
Riusuke Fukahori
Riusuki Fukahori's three-dimensional works resemble holograms. They are made with several layers of acrylic paint and transparent resin liquid - all this, without excluding traditional methods such as drawing shadows, softening edges, controlling transparency, allows Riusuki to create sculpture painting and gives the work depth and realism.
Natsuki Otani
Natsuki Otani is a talented Japanese illustrator living and working in England.
Makoto Muramatsu
Makoto Muramatsu chose a win-win theme as the basis for his creativity - he draws cats. His pictures are popular all over the world, especially in the form of puzzles.
Tetsuya Mishima
Most of the paintings by contemporary Japanese artist Mishima are done in oils. She has been painting professionally since the 90s, and has had several solo exhibitions and a large number of collective exhibitions, both Japanese and foreign.
