Modern Art & Japanese Woodcut Prints

From Manet to Van Gogh, the influence of Japanese ukiyo-e prints on European art

Hakone (1833–34) from the The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō series by Hiroshige. Source Wikimedia Commons

Japanese woodblock prints had a unique appeal for a generation of 19th European artists. Attracted by the bright colours and clear forms, vivid contrasts and asymmetrical compositions, artists like Van Gogh, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec were keen collectors of this…