Pictures of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints

Affordable art in the form of woodblock prints became popular in Japan during the Edo period (1615–1868), and was known as Ukiyo-e, literally “pictures of the Floating World” for their ephemeral nature.

When Japan opened its doors to the west in the mid-19th century, many of these prints by Hokusai, Hiroshige, and other artists were introduced to Europe for the first time and were received with great enthusiasm by the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists in Paris. This lecture traces the history of Ukiyo-e with examples from famous masters.

How to book this event:

Tickets for the lecture for non-members can be purchased at the cinema.

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Dr Meri Arichi

Dr Meri Arichi studied Art History in London and Florence, and worked at Christie’s in Kings Street, London, from 1989 to 1993. She completed Post-graduate Diploma in Asian Art (1994), MA (1996) in History of East Asian Art, and PhD in Japanese Art (2003) at SOAS. She taught History of Japanese Art in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS as a Senior Teaching Fellow from 2007 to 2016. She worked as a tutor for the Post-graduate Diploma in Asian Art course at the British Museum from 2001 to 2007, and at SOAS from 2008 to 2016. She contributes to the Diploma course at SOAS as a guest speaker now. She has run course at the V&A, Birkbeck College, the British Museum and the Coutauld Institute Summer School. She is Trustee of the Japanese Women’s Association in Great Britain and the Chair of the Circle of Japanese Art London.

GALLERY