The Western discovery of Japanese paintings at nineteenth-century worldrsquo;s fairs and export shops catapulted Japanese art to new levels of international popularity. With that popularity; however; came criticism; as Western writers began to lament a perceived end to pure Japanese art and a rise in westernized cultural hybrids. The Japanese response: nihonga; a traditional style of painting that reframed existing techniques to distinguish them from Western artistic conventions. Making Modern Japanese-Style Painting explores the visual characteristics and social functions of nihonga and traces its relationship to the past; its viewers; and emerging notions of the modern Japanese state.Chelsea Foxwell sheds light on interlinked trends in Japanese nationalist discourse; government art policy; American and European commentary on Japanese art; and the demands of export. The seminal artist Kano Hogai (1828ndash;88) is one telling example: originally a painter for the shogun; his art eventually evolved into novel; eerie images meant to satisfy both Japanese and Western audiences. Rather than simply absorbing Western approaches; nihonga as practiced by Hogai and others broke with pre-Meiji painting even as it worked to neutralize the rupture.By arguing that fundamental changes to audience expectations led to the emergence of nihongamdash;a traditional interpretation of Japanese art for a contemporary; international marketmdash;Making Modern Japanese-Style Painting offers a fresh look at an important aspect of Japanrsquo;s development into a modern nation.
2016-01-12 2016-01-12File Name: B010O8J4LI
Review
