Bücher von Andreas Marks

The Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon with no Western equivalent. Breathtaking landscapes exist alongside blush-inducing erotica, ghosts and demons torment the living, and sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors are rock stars. This condensed edition revisits the most exceptional prints from 1680-1938, presenting the finest impressions in...

From Edouard Manet's portrait of naturalist writer Émile Zola sitting among his Japanese art finds to Van Gogh's meticulous copies of the Hiroshige prints he devotedly collected, 19th-century pioneers of European modernism made no secret of their love of Japanese art. In all its sensuality, freedom, and effervescence, the woodblock print is single-handedly credited with the wave of japonaiserie that first enthralled France and, later, all of Europe--but often remains misunderstood as an "exotic" artifact that helped inspire Western creativity. The fact is that the Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon of which there exists no Western equivalent. Some of the most disruptive ideas in modern art--including, as Karl Marx put it, that "all that is solid melts into air"--were invented in Japan in the 1700s and expressed like never before in the designs of such masters as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige in the early 19th century. This volume lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art form by presenting the most exceptional Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. Ranging from the 17th-century development of decadent ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world," to the decline and later resurgence of prints in the early 20th century, the images collected in this edition make up an unmatched record not only of a unique genre in art history, but also of the shifting mores and cultural development of Japan. From mystical mountains to snowy passes, samurai swordsmen to sex workers in shop windows, each piece is explored as a work of art in its own right, revealing the stories and people behind the motifs. We discover the four pillars of the woodblock print--beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions--alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, or enticing courtesans--rock stars who populated the "floating world" and whose fan bases fueled the frenzied production of woodblock prints. We delve into the horrifying and the obscure in prints where demons, ghosts, and otherworldly creatures torment the living--stunning images that continue to influence Japanese manga, film, and video games to this day. We witness how, in their incredible breadth, from everyday scenes to erotica, the martial to the mythological, these works are united by the technical mastery and infallible eye of their creators and how, with tremendous ingenuity and tongue-in-cheek wit, publishers and artists alike fought to circumvent government censorship. Derived from the original XXL monograph, this edition compiles the finest extant impressions from museums and private collections across the globe in a lightweight, accessible format, offering extensive descriptions to guide us through this frantic period in Japanese art history.

"A feast for the eyes...the most complete volume you're ever likely to find about Hiroshige's monumental masterwork [...] [A] rare compendium." --The Japan Times A landmark book presenting the early "deluxe" versions of Hiroshige's Edo prints for the first time! Utagawa Hiroshige's unique landscape series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), first published in the 1850s, is among the best-known collections of Japanese prints and was revolutionary in its day. Individual prints from this collection are regarded as among the finest works in all of Japanese art. In this series, Hiroshige captures 118 locations in and around Edo, today's Tokyo, during all four seasons and often from hitherto unknown and unique perspectives. These views were first printed in exquisite luxury versions, incorporating innovative woodblock printing features like color gradation. No complete set of the early versions exists today and this is the first book to present a complete set of the deluxe early printings, sourced from 32 different museums and private collections. Author Andreas Marks consulted 4,700 prints in order to compile this definitive guide to Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Marks presents the various printed versions along with reference images showing how and where Hiroshige sourced his ideas for each view--from previous books and illustrations. The result is a definitive guide to understanding the complexity of Hiroshige's great work as well as the dynamics of the Japanese print market during this period. Marks' introduction discusses the genesis of the series in the context of Japanese landscape art as well as Hiroshige's personal biography. The book then presents all 118 prints together with their source materials and a map showing the locations of each view, followed by a detailed appendix discussing the great color variations found in subsequent printings of the series.

Von Edouard Manets Porträt des Schriftstellers Émile Zola, der inmitten seiner japanischen Kunstfunde hockt, bis hin zu Van Goghs akribisch gesammelten Hiroshige-Drucken - Pioniere der europäischen Moderne machten im 19. Jahrhundert kein Geheimnis aus ihrer Liebe zur japanischen Kunst. In all seiner sprudelnden Sinnlichkeit und Freizügigkeit schreibt man den Trend des Japonismus allein dem Holzschnitt zu, der zunächst Frankreich und später ganz Europa in seinen Bann zog - oft missverstandene, "exotische" Artefakte, die der westlichen Kreativität als Inspiration dienten. Tatsache ist, dass der japanische Holzschnitt ein Phänomen darstellt, zu dem es kein westliches Äquivalent gibt. Einige wegweisende Ideen der Moderne - darunter Karl Marx' Diktum, dass "alles, was fest ist, sich in der Luft auflöst" - wurden im Japan des 17. Jahrhunderts entwickelt und im frühen 19. Jahrhundert erstmals in den Werken von Meistern wie Hokusai, Utamaro und Hiroshige zum Ausdruck gebracht. Dieses Buch lüftet den Schleier dieser beliebten, aber wenig verstandenen Kunstform und präsentiert die außergewöhnlichsten japanischen Holzschnitte in ihrem historischen Kontext. Die hier versammelten Werke reichen von den Anfängen über den Höhepunkt der Entwicklung im Ukiyo-e, den "Bildern der schwebenden Welt", im 17. Jahrhundert bis zum Niedergang und späteren Wiederaufleben der Drucke im frühen 20. Jahrhundert. Dokumentiert wird nicht nur ein einzigartiges Genre der Kunstgeschichte, sondern auch die sich wandelnden Sitten und die kulturelle Entwicklung Japans. Wir entdecken die vier Säulen des Holzschnitts - Schönheiten, Schauspieler, Landschaften sowie Vogel- und Blumenkompositionen - neben Darstellungen von Sumo-Ringern, Kabuki-Schauspielern oder Edelkurtisanen - Popstars, welche die "schwebende Welt" bevölkerten und deren wachsende Anhängerschaft die explosive Produktion der Holzschnitte beflügelte. Wir tauchen ein in bedrohlich-obskure Szenen, in denen Dämonen und Geister Angst und Schrecken verbreiten und die japanische Mangas, Filme und Videospiele bis heute beeinflussen. Wir erleben, wie technische Meisterschaft und das unfehlbare Auge ihrer Schöpfer diese Werke in ihrer unglaublichen Breite - von Alltagsszenen über Erotik, Kampfkunst bis hin zur Mythologie - vereint und wie Verleger und Künstler mit enormem Einfallsreichtum und Augenzwinkern gleichermaßen darum gekämpft haben, die staatliche Zensur zu umgehen. Diese Ausgabe vereint die besten erhaltenen Drucke aus Museen und Privatsammlungen weltweit und bietet Beschreibungen, die uns durch diese rasante Periode der japanischen Kunstgeschichte führen.