Posted by John Fiorillo on October 08, 1998 at 04:15:23:
In Reply to: After the Fall posted by Linda Dancy on October 07, 1998 at 05:25:31:
: I understand that after the Edo period, sometime in the mid 1800's the quality of block prints declined. I've read about changes to western inks which were garish in comparison to the delicate water based inks used prior to the change. In trying to become more discerning, I would like to have more to go on than this. How else can one know when a print is inferior?
Response from JF:
You bring up a challenging question, and I would like to see more discussion here by others on the topic of why so many critics have pronounced nineteenth century Japanese woodblock prints "inferior" (actually the term most often used is "decadent"). Obviously this involves a subjective judgment, but certainly the early Western critics thought that the late prints of Utamaro (just after 1800) ushered in a period of decadence that began an inexorable decline and led to the ultimate demise of ukiyo-e. Various theories have been advanced, including the breakdown of feudal society, the rise of an ignorant, less educated, and less refined merchant class, and even neo-Marxist interpretations. It should be kept in mind that early critics (like A.D. Ficke, whose influential Chats on Japanese Prints (1915) provides the name for this website) held as their models the art of ancient European culture (they often compared 18th C. ukiyo-e with Greek art and 19th C. ukiyo-e with, in their view, the more corrupt Roman art). Thus in their world view Kiyonaga’s beauties were like Grecian goddesses, while later prints of beauties suffered in comparison (even Utamaro’s!). It was a strongly biased view that straight-jacketed criticism for decades (and is still doing so!).
An alternate view is possible, for it has been long recognized that the depiction of realism (or I should say greater realism within the stylizations of ukiyo-e) was an important aspect of nineteenth century ukiyo-e. The works of the late 18th and early 19th C. artists reflected a vogue for realism (sometimes referred to as shôutsushi, or "recreating the truth") that was an important part of the arts from the late eighteenth century through the remainder of the nineteenth century. Thus the change in the drawing of the human figure, the increased use of highly detailed spaces (figures were accompanied more and more by articles of everyday life, elaborately decorated contexts, and so on), and the relative reduction of idealization (just compare Harunobu’s ethereal beauties of the 1760s with Kunisada’s heavier, chisel-jawed women of the 1860s) should all be understood at least in part within the realm of stylized realism.
This is not to say that one could not argue for the superiority of earlier ukiyo-e, just that at this point nineteenth century ukiyo-e needs to be better understood (well beyond the few ideas expressed here) and its achievements recognized more widely. We already prize Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi far more than just 20 years ago, but we need to do more.
You mention specifically the introduction of western inks (these would be the synthetic aniline dyes), which could certainly be garish when used to excess, yet there are very good examples (Yoshitoshi jumps to mind) where aniline dyes were used to great effect and owe no apologies to anyone. Ukiyo-e artists were always experimenting with colors – recall, for example, the introduction of Prussian Blue (bero-ai, or "Berlin blue") in single sheet prints of the 1820s, most notably Hokusai’s Views of Fuji. The earliest impressions were prints entirely in blue and they are the most highly prized and most expensive of the series (though some critics do point out that second and third editions, before the blocks were noticeably worn, introduced successful counterbalances to the "overdone" blue palette and thus might be considered superior).
You ask "How else can one know when a print is inferior?" I think this is a subjective appraisal. Read all that you can, view as many prints as you can, and then make up your own mind. It can be an exciting journey.
I hope that others will contribute to this topic!!!