Multicolored Japanese print

If you are a little interested in traditional Japanese arts, you must have probably seen what Japanese prints are (wood engraving), or already seen Hokusai's famous painting The Great Wave of Kanagawa which is part of his series "36 views of Mount Fuji" . It is true that these Japanese woodcuts carrying the ukiyo-e artistic movement (image of the floating world) are very recognized in the land of the rising Sun and even now throughout the world in the history of art. Beyond a specific technique or pretty drawings, prints are truly seen by painters as a real activity which is part of a lifestyle and a Zen philosophy as promoted by traditional Japanese culture.

They appeared during the Edo era (1603-1868) and very quickly became democratized due to their production which is actually not very expensive given that the printing method simply consists of reprinting the canvas via a printer once. once the engraving of the latter was made. You may not be aware, but the making of a print is broken down into three stages and involves not one artist, but three different people. The first who comes into play for the creation of a print such as this Multicolored Japanese Print is the artist/designer who will be responsible for drawing the future canvas to be printed. Once the latter has created his drawing, the engraver will then break down the canvas according to its different colors and make an engraving cut into a wooden plate for each of them. Finally, the printer will use the wood engravings that were made by the engraver beforehand and print the canvas in question on a sheet. We could also mention a fourth person who is not directly involved in the creation of the print but who is there. This person is the editor whose mission will be to coordinate the work of the artist, the engraver and the printer but also to search for new talents still wandering in nature.

As for the representations within the prints, we often find illustrations of the life of the merchant bourgeoisie with their centers of interest. This explains why in the majority of cases we see sumo wrestler fights, erotic acts as well as landscapes. As a result, prints ultimately experienced a decline in interest during the 19th century because they were considered too focused on the vices and pleasures of life. Nevertheless, during this time the Japanese archipelago opened its borders to international trade, which allowed this unique style to be discovered outside the Japanese islands and the world of Western art welcomed these Japanese paintings with open arms. This explains why we now find paintings similar to this Multicolored Japanese Print, very representative of this type of traditional engraving which now dates back more than several hundred years. After this historical parenthesis concerning the world of Japanese prints we suggest that we refocus on this canvas which is, we make it clear, a reproduction of a print, and not a print made using the engraving method explained just above.

What makes this Multicolored Japanese Print different from Japanese paintings?

Given that this canvas was produced using a printing method similar to that of the Japanese paintings in our other collections, it is normal to wonder where this distinction between the wall decoration of a print and painting comes from. This is actually a difference from the point of view of style and main colors, but also from the fact that reproductions of prints such as this Multicolored Japanese Print come from an artist. This print is therefore an exact replica of his original work where the paintings are for the vast majority anonymous creations with authors of no notoriety, which does not prevent, however, from having very beautiful canvases bearing the effigy of the Japan and its culture.

Why install this Japanese print in your home?

Before offering you a quick review of this Multicolored Japanese Print and giving you some good tips for displaying it in your home and highlighting it as it should, we would just like to explain some advantages and the symbolic importance of have a Japanese print at home.

Introduction to a Zen lifestyle

Coming directly from Japanese painters of the time but above all from a school of thought and a Zen philosophy, prints like this are not simply a decoration intended to bring color into a piece. These are paintings which convey belonging to a community in accordance with this way of living according to the moral codes of traditional Japan (associated with samurai, geishas, ​​etc.). That is to say, taking advantage of the current moment and the things that we would not necessarily have paid attention to. The literary translation of the ukiyo-e movement is "image of the floating world", which is to be translated as an illustration of ephemeral things which are not intended to last. Therefore, it is crucial to take the time to appreciate these things and not live with your head lost in the past or the future.

After detailing the symbolic side of this Multicolored Japanese Print , it is important to mention that it must correspond to its owner and to those who choose to display it in their home. On this note, here is how to highlight it in order to sublimate it in the best possible way.

How to highlight this Multicolored Japanese Print ?

The first thing to do to highlight this print and nicely decorate your home is to choose the room that will accommodate this painting. Once done, analyze the layout of this same room with its furniture to help you choose which wall you want to display it on. To do this, make sure you have some margin around the canvas and if possible have a wall or wallpaper with colors that will contrast this Multicolored Japanese Print to make it stand out. When you have chosen the wall to accommodate this print, you can move on to the last step which is the choice of the frame.

To do this, you will generally have several choices which will be frames with wide edges or on the contrary quite narrow. It will depend above all on your personal tastes to make your choice but you must undoubtedly be careful to choose a frame which will not be too large depending on the size of the canvas so as not to crush it and that its drawing is highlighted. Furthermore, try to choose a frame which recalls certain shades of your interior decoration and if you can, which has shades which complement the colors of this Multicolored Japanese Print .