Ukiyo-e.

Ukiyo-e was a popular form of printing in Japan’s Edo Period (1615-1818), using carved ,lout blocks of wood to create printing plates. The print process involved four people: the publisher, the artist, the carver and the printer. The first prints used black ink but later prints had layered, coloured inks and occasionally flecks of metal. The art was made accessible to the general public, since the woodblocks could be used over and over again to mass-produce the image – this also made book production much easier. Ukiyo-e, particularly the artists Hokusai and Hiroshige, eventually became a great influence on the beginning of art nouveau movement in Europe.

Ando Hiroshige is one of the most well-known ukiyo-e artists, along with his rival Katsushika Hokusai. Like Hokusai, some of his first works were of actors and humans. Hokusai was actually an influence on his work, as he soon drifted towards landscape prints, producing series such as One Hundred Views of Edo, among others. These made up most of his work. Hiroshige inspired European impressionists and art nouveau artists with his composition technique.

Title: Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine, woodblock print

Artist: Ando Hiroshige/Utagawa Hiroshige

Year: c. 1857-1858

The scene is of a person riding a boat to Haneda village, but characteristic of Hiroshige’s compositions, he has set the viewpoint such that you see little more than the person’s legs, something completely different from typical ukiyo-e prints. In the background is a lighthouse, to alert the people on boats to land, and the Benten Shrine. The shrine is named after the Japanese goddess of water music and literature. The artist went by both Ando and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Although Hiroshige and Hokusai will always be known as rivals, Hiroshige’s legacy is remarkable considering he started printmaking at a later age than Hokusai, and had died earlier from a cholera epidemic.

Art Nouveau.

Jugendstil, an artistic style that began in Germany (its definition meaning, youth style) in the 1890s. This style is very similar to Art Nouveau, and continued on until the early 20th century. Much like Art Nouveau, this stylization is in response t the art of the 19th century, and uses a lot of organic imagery, like flowing, and curved movements within it's pieces. This particular style of design was applied to different types of work like architecture, and furniture. Allowing this style to be apart of ones daily lives.

 

Born in Brighton, England, on August 21th, 1872, this young artist, illustrator and author was known as being a controversial artist of the Art Noveau era. Salome was also an illustration for Oscar Wilde– author of the play by the same title– who was a close friend of Beardsley. His erotic and perverse imagery, in his many pieces allowed him to gain that title. Those illustration included themes of history and mythology, particularly with his illustrations of Salome.

Title: Salome, painting
Artist: Audrey Beardsley
Year: 1893
the use of colours created a dramatic atmosphere towards the painting; repetitive use of patterns adds balance within the whole image. Part of the painting demonstrates medusa’s head, Audrey had an interest with Medusa’s mythology which he was interested in. It quite represents the artist’s opinion in the artwork; the figure is staring into medusa’s eyes showing her interest towards Medusa.

As well as being a successful illustrator, he was also a caricaturist and even did some political cartooning throughout his career. At the young age of 25, Beardsley died of tuberculosis on March 26th, 1898.

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Alphonse Mucha is quite possibly the most renown of art nouveau artists. He had started drawing when he was young, and made his first poster, Gismonda, for the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. He based Sarah’s image off of a poster made previously, but added intricate Byzantine-inspired patterns throughout, setting it apart from its predecessor.

Title: Bières de la Meuse, advertisement/poster

Artist: Alphonse Mucha

Year: 1897

This poster promotes beer from a brewery near the River Meuse. A woman is seen wearing a wreath of poppies on her head and holding a pint of beer. The images at the bottom are of the goddess of the River Meuse, and the breweries of the company. All of the company’s posters were to have these images somewhere on them, thus they appeared on Mucha’s version, as well.

He is associated with art nouveau due to the similar elements in style, but has never wanted to be labeled as such. He always thought that since art was always existent, it could never be new. Unfortunately for him he’ll always be known as an art nouveau artist.

Arts and Crafts Movement.

William Morris was a highly influential artist who introduced the arts and crafts movement to a highly industrialized society. When he and his wife moved into Red House, he was so irked by the fussy Victorian-style furniture that he redecorated the whole house. He was known for designing 2D patterns, furniture, cabinets, and interior design goods. These patterns were often decorative, stylized flowers. Like many members of the arts and crafts movement, he involved himself in several organizations and charities.

Title: Logo for Kelmscott Press

Artist: William Morris

Year: 1892

Kelmscott Press devoted itself to spreading the beauty of incunabula books (books printed before 1501) and used traditional techniques like hand-printing, handmade paper and woodblocks to publish their books. The logo itself, with its winding vines and blackletter-inspired letterforms, was the Press’s way of representing their traditional means.

His legacy is best defined through making art accessible to all classes through design, restoring pride in one’s created work, and looking at past designs to inspire future ones. His typefaces, like Golden, influenced future Jenson- and Gothic-based typefaces in Europe and America.


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Will H. Bradley's illustrations are some of the earliest examples of American Art Nouveau. Most of his illustrations were inspired from the Arts and Crafts Movement and Japanese block printing. He was often compared to fellow artist, Aubrey Beardsley, such that those who critiqued him just called him the "American Beardsley." Most of Bradley's mediums were posters, which include one of his pieces entitled, "The Chap Book".

Title: The Chap-Book, illustration
Artist: William H. Bradley
Year: 1895

William was inspired by Beardsley’s style of work, the use of flat colours, dense ornaments and complex lines. This was for William`s own magazine; the use of bold letters expresses more out of the illustration itself. He knew how to tweak his typefaces within the actual illustration.

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 A leading exponent of German Jugendstil, Otto Eckman was an artist of a variety of mediums. He was a painter, printmaker, typographer and a crafts designer. He turned to graphic and crafts design in 1894. He created a number of illustrations for different journals such as "Pan" and "Jugend" in 1895, as well as becoming a professor that following year. In 1900, the Eckmann script was created, which matched his his style's ideal form.

Title: Eckmann Schrift Typeface
Artist: Otto Eckmann
Year: 1900

Eckmann decided to move on from painting to pursuing typographic design; this is what he is best known for, it was based on some Japanese calligraphy

 

Sources

A list of all the sources that were used while putting this assignment together.

Ukiyo-e

Blood, Katherine. “Exhibition Overview.” The Floating World of Ukiyo-E. Library of Congress, 2010. Web. <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/intro.html>

Holmes, Charles. “Hiroshige: An Appreciation.” The Woodblock Prints of Ando Hiroshige.  N.P., N.D., 4 February 2011. < http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/dome/dome.htm/>

“Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine (Haneda no Watashi Benten) (8^th Month, 1858).” Exhibitions: Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Brooklyn Museum. N.D., 3 February 2011. <http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/online/edo/detail.php?view=Summer.72/>

Art Nouveau 

Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs History of Graphic Design. 4^th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Incorporated, 2006. Print.

Arwas, Victor, Jana Brabcová-Orlíková, and Anna Dvořak. Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau. Alexandria, VA: Art Services International, 1998. Print.

“Aubrey Beardsley Biography.” ArtinthePicture.com: An Introduction to Art History. N.P., 2011. 10 February 2011. Web. < http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Aubrey_Beardsley/Biography/>

“Art Nouveau Artists and Art Nouveau Designers.” Art Nouveau Artists: Your Guide to Collecting Art Nouveau Antiques and the Art Nouveau Style. Antique-Marks, 2010. 10 February 2011. Web. <http://www.antique-marks.com/art-nouveau-artists.html#bradley/>

Arts and Crafts (William Morris, Kelmscott Press)

Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs History of Graphic Design. 4^th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Incorporated, 2006. Print.

Jirousek, Charlotte. “The Arts and Crafts Movement.” Art, Design, and Visual Thinking. N.P., 1995. 11 February 2011. Web. < http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm/>

  http://www.otto-eckmann.com/