Japanese School

The development of Japanese art is closely linked to a traditional aesthetic. Unusual for the European art lover is the link with everyday use. Artistic garden design, painted silk and bowls for ceremonial tea preparation have an artistic value if they show reference to Japanese tradition and have an application in everyday use. The higher the everyday use and signs of everyday patina, the higher the artistic appreciation. The development of Japanese art is subject to the accusation of having submitted to the influence of foreign cultures for centuries. Japan resembles a sponge that has absorbed incoming cultures and has rarely been in the position of an idea generator. A close examination reveals only a selective adoption of foreign artistic trends. Few of the achievements of foreign cultures stood high enough in the esteem of artists to be integrated into Japanese art. As the 19th century progressed, the position changed and Japanese artists developed into sources of inspiration for European painters. In particular, the Japanese form of woodblock printing was very popular among the French Impressionists and influenced the works of Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Claude Monet.Utagawa Hiroshige was an artist who used the printing technique of the ukiyo-e style and is considered a typical representative of the Edo period.

Another principle of aesthetics in Japanese art is the simple things that nature gives as a model. Simplicity in the sense of a reduced representation of simple grace and beauty. The arrangement of the components of a painting creates the impression of the greatest possible simplicity. Restraint in composition is considered a basic condition of good taste in all epochs. This aesthetic principle originated in Zen Buddhism and is known as Wabi Sabi or Iki. The sense of beauty does not follow the European standard, which often demands balance and symmetry. Irregularities and asymmetries derived from nature are equally important elements of aesthetic expression.

A special form of in Japanese art is the depiction of erotic motifs. Shunga are woodblock prints depicting the sexual act. The open presentation of people in intimate situations was a major source of income for the artists of ukiyo-e style woodblock prints. Ukiyo-e means images of the fluid world, and this world revolved around the hedonistic amusement districts of urban regions. Eroticism is a part of the world that was composed of Kabuki theatres, tea houses and brothels. Actors, geishas and courtesans formed an illustrious society devoted to pleasure, and the Japanese artists of the 17th and 18th centuries carried this world to the outside world in paintings. Many European artists reacted with admiration to the depictions and the technique of printing. By applying watercolor and printing by the power of the hands, an expression of lightness reminiscent of a watercolor is created.