How our much loved 19th century artists were influenced by the Masters of the ‘floating world’
For over two hundred years, until 1853, Japan had been almost entirely cut off from the western world. But almost immediately after trade routes re-opened, Japanese art and artifacts – as evidenced by countless portraits of beautiful women sporting kimonos and fans, with a backdrop of splendid porcelain vases - became all the rage in the West. But there was another, more profound and long-lasting, influence at work: namely that of the decorative, non-naturalistic woodcut prints by masters of the ukiyo-e (‘floating world’) school, which – combined with the influence of the new medium of photography – opened avant-garde artists’ eyes to entirely different ways of representing the world.
THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER
Ms Monica Bohm-Duchen
London-based freelance lecturer, writer and exhibition organiser. Has lectured for Tate, the National Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Open University, Sotheby's Institute of Art and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck College since 2005, and has led many tours. Publications include Understanding Modern Art (1991), Chagall (1998/
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