Japanese paintings: all the subtleties of oriental painting. Hokusai - world of japan

If you think that all great artists are in the past, then you have no idea how wrong you are. In this article, you will learn about the most famous and talented artists of our time. And, believe me, their works will sit in your memory no less deeply than the works of the maestro from past eras.

Wojciech Babski

Wojciech Babski - modern Polish artist. He graduated from the Silesian Polytechnic Institute, but connected himself with. AT recent times draws mostly women. Focuses on the manifestation of emotions, seeks to obtain the greatest possible effect by simple means.

Loves color but often uses shades of black and gray to achieve best experience. Not afraid to experiment with new techniques. Recently, he has been gaining more and more popularity abroad, mainly in the UK, where he successfully sells his works, which can already be found in many private collections. In addition to art, he is interested in cosmology and philosophy. Listens to jazz. Currently lives and works in Katowice.

Warren Chang

Warren Chang - modern American artist. Born in 1957 and raised in Monterey, California, he graduated magna cum laude from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1981 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fine Arts. For the next two decades he worked as an illustrator for various companies in California and New York before starting a career as a professional artist in 2009.

His realistic paintings can be divided into two main categories: biographical interior paintings and paintings depicting working people. His interest in this style of painting is rooted in the work of the 16th-century artist Jan Vermeer, and extends to objects, self-portraits, portraits of family members, friends, students, studio, classroom and home interiors. Its purpose is to realistic paintings create mood and emotion through light manipulation and the use of muted colors.

Chang became famous after the transition to traditional visual arts. Over the past 12 years, he has earned numerous awards and honors, the most prestigious being the Master Signature from the Oil Painters Association of America, the largest oil painting community in the United States. Only one person out of 50 is honored with the opportunity to receive this award. Currently, Warren lives in Monterey and works in his studio, he also teaches (known as a talented teacher) at the San Francisco Academy of the Arts.

Aurelio Bruni

Aurelio Bruni - italian artist. Born in Blair, October 15, 1955. Graduated with a degree in scenography from the Art Institute in Spoleto. As an artist, he is self-taught, as he independently “built the house of knowledge” on the foundation laid back in school. He began painting in oils at the age of 19. Currently lives and works in Umbria.

Bruni's early painting is rooted in surrealism, but over time he begins to focus on the proximity of lyrical romanticism and symbolism, reinforcing this combination with the exquisite refinement and purity of his characters. Animate and inanimate objects acquire equal dignity and look almost hyper-realistic, but at the same time, they do not hide behind a curtain, but allow you to see the essence of your soul. Versatility and sophistication, sensuality and loneliness, thoughtfulness and fruitfulness are the spirit of Aurelio Bruni, nourished by the splendor of art and the harmony of music.

Aleksander Balos

Alkasandr Balos is a contemporary Polish artist specializing in oil painting. Born in 1970 in Gliwice, Poland, but since 1989 he has been living and working in the USA, in the city of Shasta, California.

As a child, he studied art under the guidance of his father Jan, a self-taught artist and sculptor, so from early age, artistic activity received full support from both parents. In 1989, at the age of eighteen, Balos left Poland for the United States, where his schoolteacher and part-time artist Cathy Gaggliardi encouraged Alcasander to enroll in art school. Balos then received a full scholarship to the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin, where he studied painting with philosophy professor Harry Rosin.

After completing his studies in 1995 and receiving a bachelor's degree, Balos moved to Chicago to attend school visual arts, whose methods are based on the work of Jacques-Louis David. figurative realism and portrait painting made up the bulk of Balos' work in the 90s and early 2000s. Today, Balos uses the human figure to highlight the features and shortcomings of human existence, without offering any solutions.

The plot compositions of his paintings are intended to be independently interpreted by the viewer, only then the canvases will acquire their true temporal and subjective meaning. In 2005, the artist moved to Northern California, since then the scope of his work has expanded significantly and now includes freer methods of painting, including abstraction and various multimedia styles that help express the ideas and ideals of being through painting.

Alyssa Monks

Alyssa Monks - modern American artist. She was born in 1977 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She became interested in painting when she was still a child. Studied at the New School in New York and State University Montclair, and graduated from Boston College in 1999, received a bachelor's degree. At the same time, she studied painting at the academy Lorenzo Medici in Florence.

Then she continued her studies under the program for a master's degree at the New York Academy of Art, in the Department of Figurative Art, graduating in 2001. She graduated from Fullerton College in 2006. For some time she lectured at universities and educational institutions throughout the country, teaching painting at the New York Academy of Art, as well as Montclair State University and Lyme Academy College of Art.

“Using filters such as glass, vinyl, water and steam, I distort human body. These filters allow you to create large areas abstract design, with islands of color peeking through them - parts of the human body.

My pictures are changing modern look to the already established, traditional postures and gestures of bathing women. They could tell an attentive viewer a lot about such seemingly self-evident things as the benefits of swimming, dancing, and so on. My characters are pressed against the glass of the shower cabin window, distorting their own body, realizing that they thereby influence the notorious male look at a naked woman. Thick layers of paint are mixed together to mimic glass, steam, water and flesh from afar. However, up close, delightful physical properties oil paint. By experimenting with layers of paint and color, I find the moment when abstract strokes become something else.

When I first started painting the human body, I was immediately fascinated and even obsessed with it and felt that I had to make my paintings as realistic as possible. I "professed" realism until it began to unravel and deconstruct itself. Now I am exploring the possibilities and potential of a style of painting where representational painting and abstraction meet – if both styles can coexist at the same moment in time, I will do it.”

Antonio Finelli

Italian artist - time watcher” – Antonio Finelli was born on February 23, 1985. Currently lives and works in Italy between Rome and Campobasso. His works have been exhibited in several galleries in Italy and abroad: Rome, Florence, Novara, Genoa, Palermo, Istanbul, Ankara, New York, and they can also be found in private and public collections.

Pencil drawings " Watcher of time” Antonio Finelli send us on an eternal journey through inner world human temporality and the rigorous analysis of this world associated with it, the main element of which is the passage through time and the traces it inflicts on the skin.

Finelli paints portraits of people of any age, gender and nationality, whose facial expressions indicate the passage through time, and the artist also hopes to find evidence of the ruthlessness of time on the bodies of his characters. Antonio defines his works with one, general title: “Self-portrait”, because in his pencil drawings he not only depicts a person, but allows the viewer to contemplate real results the passage of time within a person.

Flaminia Carloni

Flaminia Carloni is a 37-year-old Italian artist, the daughter of a diplomat. She has three children. Twelve years she lived in Rome, three years in England and France. Received a degree in art history from the BD School of Art. Then she received a diploma in the specialty restorer of works of art. Before finding her calling and devoting herself entirely to painting, she worked as a journalist, colorist, designer, and actress.

Flaminia's passion for painting arose as a child. Her main medium is oil because she loves “coiffer la pate” and also plays with the material. She learned a similar technique in the works of the artist Pascal Torua. Flaminia is inspired by the great masters of painting such as Balthus, Hopper, and François Legrand, as well as various art movements: street art, Chinese realism, surrealism and renaissance realism. Her favorite painter Caravaggio. Her dream is to discover the therapeutic power of art.

Denis Chernov

Denis Chernov is talented Ukrainian artist, was born in 1978 in Sambir, Lviv region, Ukraine. After graduating from the Kharkov Art College in 1998, he stayed in Kharkov, where he currently lives and works. He also studied at Kharkov state academy design and arts, department of graphics, graduated in 2004.

He regularly participates in art exhibitions, this moment there were more than sixty of them, both in Ukraine and abroad. Most of Denis Chernov's works are kept in private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, England, Spain, Greece, France, USA, Canada and Japan. Some of the works were sold at Christie's.

Denis works in a wide range of graphics and painting techniques. Pencil drawings are one of his favorite painting methods, a list of his topics pencil drawings also very diverse, he paints landscapes, portraits, nudes, genre compositions, book illustrations, literary and historical reconstructions and fantasies.

Monochrome painting of Japan is one of the unique phenomena art of the East. A lot of works and studies are devoted to it, but it is often perceived as a very conditional thing, and sometimes even decorative. This is not so. The spiritual world of the Japanese artist is very rich, and he cares not so much about the aesthetic component, but about the spiritual one. Art of the East is a synthesis of external and internal, explicit and implicit.

In this post, I would like to pay attention not to the history of monochrome painting, but to its essence. This will be discussed.

Screen "Pine" Hasegawa Tohaku, 1593.

What we see in monochrome paintings is the result of the artist's interaction with the pine triad: paper, brush, ink. Therefore, in order to properly understand the work, one must understand the artist himself and his attitude.

"Landscape" Sesshu, 1398

Paper not easy for a Japanese master improvised material, which he subordinates to his whim, but rather, on the contrary, is a “brother”, therefore, the attitude towards her has developed accordingly. Paper is a part of the surrounding nature, which the Japanese have always treated with reverence and tried not to subjugate, but to coexist peacefully with it. Paper is in the past a tree that stood in a certain area, certain time, “saw” something around her, and she keeps it all. This is how the Japanese artist perceives the material. Often, the masters, before starting work, looked for a long time at Blank sheet(contemplated it) and only then proceeded to painting. Even today, contemporary Japanese artists who practice Nihon-ga (traditional Japanese painting) carefully choose their paper. They buy it on order from paper mills. For each artist of a certain thickness, moisture permeability and texture (many artists even enter into an agreement with the factory owner not to sell this paper to other artists) - therefore, each painting is perceived as something unique and alive.

"Reading in a bamboo grove" Shubun, 1446.

Speaking about the significance of this material, it is worth mentioning such famous monuments Japanese literature such as Sei Shonagon's "Notes at the Headboard" and Murasaki Shikibu's "Genji Monogotari": in both "Notes" and "Genji" you can find scenes when courtiers or lovers exchange messages. The paper on which these messages were written was of the appropriate season, shade, and the manner of writing the text corresponded to its texture.

"Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyama Shrine" Kyosen

Brush- the second component is the continuation of the master's hand (again, this is natural material). Therefore, brushes were also made to order, but most often by the artist himself. He selected the hairs of the required length, chose the size of the brush and the most comfortable handle. The master writes only with his own brush and no other. (From personal experience: was at the master class Chinese artist Jiang Shilun, the audience asked to show what his students who were present at the master class can do, and each of them, picking up the master’s brush, said that it would turn out not what they expected, since the brush was not theirs, they were not used to it and don't know how to use it properly.

"Fuji" ink sketch by Katsushika Hokusai

ink- third important element. Ink happens different types: it can give a glossy or matte effect after drying, it can be mixed with silver or ocher shades, therefore right choice mascara is also not unimportant.

Yamamoto Baitsu, late XVIII- XIX century.

The main subjects of monochrome painting are landscapes. Why don't they have color?

Twin screen "Pines", Hasegawa Tohaku

Firstly, the Japanese artist is not interested in the object itself, but in its essence, a certain component that is common to all living things and leads to harmony between man and nature. Therefore, the image is always a hint, it is addressed to our feelings, and not to vision. Understatement is a stimulus for dialogue, and hence connection. Lines and spots are important in the image - they form artistic language. This is not the liberty of the master, who, where he wanted, left a greasy mark there, and in another place, on the contrary, did not draw well - in the picture everything has its own meaning and meaning, and does not carry a random character.

Secondly, color always carries some kind of emotional connotation and is perceived differently by different people in different states, so emotional neutrality allows the viewer to most adequately enter into a dialogue, position him for perception, contemplation, thought.

Thirdly, this is the interaction of yin and yang, any monochrome picture is harmonious in terms of the ratio of ink and the untouched area of ​​paper in it.

Why most of paper space is not used?

"Landscape" Syubun, middle of the 15th century.

First, the vacancy of space immerses the viewer in the image; secondly, the image is created as if it floated to the surface for a moment and is about to disappear - this is connected with the worldview and worldview; thirdly, in those areas where there is no ink, the texture and shade of paper come to the fore (this is not always visible on reproductions, but in reality it is always the interaction of two materials - paper and ink).

Sesshu, 1446

Why landscape?

"Contemplation of the Waterfall" Gayami, 1478

According to the Japanese worldview, nature is more perfect than man, so he must learn from her, protect her in every possible way, and not destroy or subjugate. Therefore, in many landscapes you can see small images of people, but they are always insignificant, small in relation to the landscape itself, or images of huts that fit into the space around them and are not even always noticeable - these are all symbols of the worldview.

"Seasons: Autumn and Winter" Sesshu. "Landscape" Sesshu, 1481

In conclusion, I want to say that monochrome Japanese painting is not randomly splashed ink, it is not a whim of the artist’s inner ego - it is a whole system of images and symbols, it is a repository of philosophical thought, and most importantly, a way of communication and harmonization of oneself and the world around.

Here, I think, are the answers to the main questions that the viewer has when confronted with monochrome Japanese painting. I hope they will help you to understand it most correctly and perceive it when you meet.

Japanese classical painting has a long and interesting story. The visual arts of Japan are represented in different styles and genres, each of which is unique in its own way. Ancient painted figurines and geometric motifs found on dotaku bronze bells and pottery shards date back to 300 AD.

Buddhist orientation of art

In Japan, the art of wall painting was quite well developed; in the 6th century, images on the theme of the philosophy of Buddhism were especially popular. At that time, large temples were being built in the country, and their walls were everywhere decorated with frescoes painted according to the plots of Buddhist myths and legends. Until now, ancient examples of wall paintings have been preserved in the Horyuji temple near the Japanese city of Nara. Horyuji's frescoes depict scenes from the life of the Buddha and other gods. The artistic style of these frescoes is very close to the pictorial concept popular in China during the Song Dynasty.

The picturesque style of the Tang Dynasty gained particular popularity in the middle of the Nara period. The frescoes found in the tomb of Takamatsuzuka belong to this period and are dated to around the 7th century AD. Artistic technique, formed under the influence of the Tang dynasty, subsequently formed the basis of the kara-e painting genre. This genre retained its popularity until the appearance of the first works in the yamato-e style. Most of the frescoes and pictorial 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 the Tendai influenced the broad religious focus of Japanese visual arts in the 8th and 9th centuries. In the 10th century, during which Japanese Buddhism developed especially, the genre of raigozu, "welcome paintings", depicting the arrival of the Buddha in the Western Paradise, appeared. Early examples of raigōzu dating back to 1053 can be seen at the Bedo-in Temple, which is preserved in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture.

Changing styles

In the middle of the Heian period, the Chinese kara-e style was replaced by the yamato-e genre, which for a long time became one of the most popular and sought-after genres of Japanese painting. The new pictorial style was mainly applied to folding screens and sliding doors. Over time, yamato-e moved to the horizontal scrolls of emakimono. 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, the artists of that time used quick strokes and bright, expressive colors.

E-maki is one of the oldest and most prominent examples of otoko-e, a painting genre. male portraits. Women's portraits highlighted in separate genre onna-e. Between these genres, in fact, as well as between men and women, there are quite significant differences. The onna-e style is colorfully represented in the design of the Tale of Genji, where the main themes of the drawings are romantic plots, scenes from court life. The male style of otoko-e is predominantly artistic image historical battles and others important events in the life of the empire.

The classical Japanese art school has become a fertile ground for the development and promotion of the ideas of contemporary art in Japan, which clearly shows the influence of pop culture and anime. One of the most famous Japanese artists modernity can be called Takashi Murakami, whose work is dedicated to depicting scenes from Japanese life in the post-war period and the concept of maximum fusion fine arts and mainstream.

From famous Japanese artists classical school the following can be named.

Tense Shubun

Shubun worked at the beginning of the 15th century, devoting a lot of time to studying the works of Chinese masters of the Song Dynasty era, this man stood at the origins of Japanese fine genre. Shubun is considered the founder of sumi-e, monochrome ink painting. He made a lot of efforts to popularize the new genre, turning it into one of the leading trends in Japanese painting. Shubun's students were many who later became famous artists, including Sesshu and the founder of the famous art school Kano Masanobu. Many landscapes have been attributed to Shubun, but his most famous work is traditionally considered Reading in a Bamboo Grove.

Ogata Korin (1658-1716)

Ogata Korin is one of the major artists in the history of Japanese painting, the founder and one of the brightest representatives of the rimpa art style. Korin boldly departed from traditional stereotypes in his works, having formed his own own style, whose main characteristics were small forms and vivid impressionism of the plot. Korin is known for his particular 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 art school Hasegawa. The early period of Tohaku's work is characterized by the influence of the well-known 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 work of the recognized master Sesshu, Hosegawa even considered himself the fifth successor of this great master. Hasegawa Tohaku's painting "Pine Trees" gained worldwide fame, his works "Maple", "Pine Trees and Flowering Plants" and others are also known.

Kano Eitoku (1543-1590)

The Kanō 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 of 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 this work, no doubt, very talented artist. Eight-panel sliding screen "Cypress", painted by Eitoku Kano, is a real masterpiece and prime example scope and power of the Monoyama style. Other works of the master look no less interesting, such as "Birds and Trees of the Four Seasons", "Chinese Lions", "Hermits and a Fairy" and many others.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Hokusai - greatest master ukiyo-e (Japanese woodcut). The work of Hokusai received world recognition, his fame in other countries is not comparable with the popularity of most Asian artists, his work " A big wave in Kanagawa" became something like business card Japanese fine arts on the world art scene. On my own creative way Hokusai used more than thirty pseudonyms, after sixty the artist devoted himself entirely to art, and it is this time that is considered the most fruitful period of his work. Hokusai's work influenced the work of Western Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters, including the work of Renoir, Monet and van Gogh.

Japanese painting is absolutely unique direction in world art. It has existed since ancient times, but as a tradition it has not lost its popularity and ability to surprise.

Attention to tradition

The East is not only landscapes, mountains and the rising sun. These are also the people who created its history. It is these people who have maintained the tradition of Japanese painting for many centuries, developing and multiplying their art. Those who made a significant contribution to the history of Japanese artists. It is thanks to them that modern ones have retained all the canons of traditional Japanese painting.

Painting style

Unlike Europe, Japanese artists preferred to paint closer to graphics than to painting. In such paintings you will not find rough, careless strokes of oil, which are so characteristic of the Impressionists. What is the graphic nature of such art as Japanese trees, rocks, animals and birds - everything in these pictures is drawn as clearly as possible, with firm and confident ink lines. All objects in the composition must have an outline. Filling inside the contour is usually done in watercolor. The color is washed out, other shades are added, and somewhere the color of the paper is left. Decorativeness is exactly what distinguishes Japanese paintings from the art of the whole world.

Contrasts in painting

Contrast is another characteristic technique used by Japanese artists. This may be a difference in tone, color, or a contrast of warm and cold shades.

The artist resorts to a technique when he wants to highlight some element of the subject. It can be a vein on a plant, a single petal or a tree trunk against the sky. Then the light, illuminated part of the object and the shadow under it are depicted (or vice versa).

Transitions and colors

When drawing Japanese paintings, transitions are often used. They are different: for example, from one color to another. On the petals of water lilies, peonies, you can notice the transition from a light shade to a rich, bright one of some color.

Also, transitions are used in the image of the water surface, the sky. The smooth transition from sunset to dark, deepening twilight looks very beautiful. Clouds are also drawn with transitions from different shades and reflexes.

The main motives of Japanese painting

In art, everything is connected with real life, with the feelings and emotions of those involved in it. As in literature, music and other manifestations of creativity, there are several eternal themes in painting. it historical plots, images of people and nature.

Japanese landscapes are varied. Often in the paintings there are images of ponds - a favorite subject of the interior of the Japanese. A decorative pond, several water lilies and bamboo nearby - this is what a typical 17th-18th century painting looks like.

Animals in Japanese painting

Animals are also a recurring element in Asian painting. Traditionally, this is a crouching tiger or domestic cat. In general, Asians are very fond of and therefore their representatives are found in all forms of oriental art.

The world of fauna is another topic that follows japanese painting. Birds - cranes, decorative parrots, luxurious peacocks, swallows, inconspicuous sparrows and even roosters - all of them are found in the drawings of oriental masters.

Fish is an equally hot topic for Japanese artists. Koi are the Japanese version of the goldfish. These creatures live in Asia in all ponds, even small parks and gardens. Koi carp is a kind of tradition that belongs specifically to Japan. These fish symbolize struggle, determination, achieving one's goal. No wonder they are depicted as floating with the flow, always with decorative wave crests.

Japanese paintings: depiction of people

People in Japanese painting are a special theme. The artists depicted geishas, ​​emperors, warriors and elders.

Geisha are depicted surrounded by flowers, always wearing elaborate robes with many folds and elements.

Wise men are depicted sitting or explaining something to their students. The image of an old scientist is a symbol of the history, culture and philosophy of Asia.

The warrior was portrayed as formidable, sometimes intimidating. The long ones were drawn in detail and looked like a wire.

Usually all the details of the armor are refined with ink. Often, naked warriors are decorated with tattoos depicting an oriental dragon. It is a symbol of strength and military power of Japan.

The rulers were portrayed for the imperial families. Beautiful robes, ornaments in the hair of men - that such works of art abound.

landscapes

Traditional Japanese landscape - mountains. Asian painters have succeeded in depicting a variety of landscapes: they can depict the same peak in different colors, with different atmospheres. The only thing that remains unchanged is the mandatory presence of flowers. Usually, along with the mountains, the artist depicts some kind of plant in the foreground and draws it in detail. Mountains and cherry blossoms look beautiful. And if you draw falling petals - the picture is admired by the sad beauty. The contrast in the atmosphere of the painting is another remarkable quality of Japanese culture.

Hieroglyphs

Often the composition of a picture in Japanese painting is combined with letters. Hieroglyphs are arranged so that it looks beautiful compositionally. Usually they are drawn on the left or right of the picture. Hieroglyphs can indicate what is depicted in the picture, its name or the name of the artist.

Japan is one of the richest countries in history and culture. All over the world, it is customary to consider the Japanese as pedantic people who find aesthetics in absolutely all manifestations of life. Therefore, Japanese paintings are always very harmonious in color and tone: if there are inclusions of some bright color- then only in the semantic centers. Using the example of paintings by Asian artists, one can study color theory, the correct transfer of form using graphics, and composition. The technique of performing Japanese paintings is so high that it can serve as an example for working with watercolors and performing "washing" of graphic works.

Which covers many techniques and styles. Throughout its history, it has undergone a large number of changes. New traditions and genres were added, and the original Japanese principles remained. Along with amazing story Japan painting is also ready to present many unique and interesting facts.

ancient japan

The first styles appear in the most ancient historical period countries before BC. e. Back then, art was pretty primitive. First, in 300 B.C. e., there were various geometric figures which were made on pottery with sticks. Such a find by archaeologists as an ornament on bronze bells belongs to a later time.

A little later, already in 300 AD. e., appear cave drawings which are much more varied. geometric ornament. These are already full-fledged images with images. They were found inside the crypts, and probably the people who are painted on them were buried in these burial grounds.

In the 7th century A.D. e. Japan adopts the script that comes from China. Around the same time, the first paintings come from there. Then painting appears as a separate sphere of art.

edo

Edo is far from the first and not the last painting, but it was she who brought a lot of new things to the culture. Firstly, it is the brightness and brilliance that were added to the usual technique, performed in black and gray tones. Sotasu is considered the most prominent artist of this style. He created classical paintings but his characters were very colorful. Later, he switched to nature, and most of the landscapes were done against a background of gilding.

Secondly, during the Edo period, the exotic, the namban genre, appeared. It used modern European and Chinese technicians that are intertwined with traditional Japanese styles.

And thirdly, the Nang school appears. In it, the artists first completely imitate or even copy the works of Chinese masters. Then a new branch appears, which is called bunjing.

Modernization period

The Edo period replaces the Meiji, and now Japanese painting is forced to enter the new stage development. At this time, genres such as the western and the like were becoming popular all over the world, so the modernization of art became a common state of affairs. However, in Japan, a country where all people revere traditions, in given time things were very different from what happened in other countries. Here, competition between European and local technicians flares up sharply.

The government at this stage gives its preference to young artists who serve great expectations to improve skills in Western styles. Therefore, they send them to schools in Europe and America.

But this was only at the beginning of the period. The fact is that notable critics pretty much criticized Western art. To avoid a big stir around this issue, European styles and techniques began to be banned from exhibitions, their display stopped, as well as their popularity.

The emergence of European styles

Then comes the Taisho period. At this time, young artists who left to study in foreign schools come back to their homeland. Naturally, they bring with them new styles of Japanese painting, which are very similar to European ones. Impressionism and post-impressionism appear.

On the this stage many schools are formed in which the ancient japanese styles. But it is not possible to completely get rid of Western tendencies. Therefore, it is necessary to combine several techniques in order to please both lovers of the classics and fans of modern European painting.

Some schools are funded by the state, thanks to which many of the national traditions are preserved. Private traders, on the other hand, are forced to follow the lead of consumers who want something new, they are tired of the classics.

WWII painting

After the onset of wartime, Japanese painting remained aloof from events for some time. It developed separately and independently. But it couldn't go on like this forever.

Over time, when the political situation in the country is getting worse, high and respected figures attract many artists. Some of them, even at the beginning of the war, begin to create in patriotic styles. The rest start this process only by order of the authorities.

Accordingly, Japanese fine arts during the Second World War were unable to develop especially. Therefore, for painting it can be called stagnant.

Eternal Suibokuga

Japanese sumi-e painting, or suibokuga, means "ink drawing". This determines the style and technique of this art. It came from China, but the Japanese decided to give it their own name. And initially the technique did not have any aesthetic side. It was used by the monks for self-improvement while studying Zen. Moreover, at first they drew pictures, and later they trained their concentration while viewing them. The monks believed that strict lines, vague tones and shadows help improvement - all that is called monochrome.

Japanese ink painting, despite the wide variety of paintings and techniques, is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. It is based on only 4 plots:

1. Chrysanthemum.
2. Orchid.
3. Plum branch.
4. Bamboo.

A small number of plots does not make the development of technology fast. Some masters believe that learning lasts a lifetime.

Despite the fact that sumi-e appeared a long time ago, it is always in demand. Moreover, today you can meet the masters of this school not only in Japan, it is also widespread far beyond its borders.

Modern period

At the end of the Second World War, art in Japan flourished only in large cities, the villagers and villagers had enough worries. For the most part, the artists tried to turn their backs on the losses of the war and depict modern urban life with all its embellishments and features on canvas. European and American ideas were successfully adopted, but this state of affairs did not last long. Many masters began to gradually move away from them towards Japanese schools.

It has always remained fashionable. Therefore, modern Japanese painting can differ only in the technique of execution or the materials used in the process. But most artists do not perceive various innovations well.

Not to mention fashionable modern subcultures such as anime and similar styles. Many artists are trying to blur the line between the classics and what is in demand today. For the most part, this state of affairs is due to commerce. Classics and traditional genres in fact, they don’t buy, therefore, it’s unprofitable to work as an artist in your favorite genre, you need to adapt to fashion.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Japanese painting is a treasure trove of fine arts. Perhaps the country in question remained the only one that did not follow Western trends, did not adapt to fashion. Despite many blows at the time of the arrival of new techniques, the artists of Japan still managed to defend national traditions in many genres. This is probably why, in modern times, paintings made in classical styles are highly valued at exhibitions.