ARTH 225 - Pleasure and Design in Confinement: Japanese Prints in and after Edo

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
Colorful ukiyo-e, pictures of courtesans, kabuki actors reenacting samurai epics, and landscapes of Mt. Fuji are among the most recognizable images of Japanese art. This course explores how woodblock prints developed in the 17th to 18th centuries alongside the growth of Edo (modern Tokyo) and during a period of isolationism. We will track innovations in woodblock technology and how features of prints were creative responses of artists to constraints imposed by the ruling shogunate. We will begin with key social and cultural changes, examine select thematic topics and artists (e.g. Utamaro, Hokusai) and conclude with modern prints. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history or East Asian studies.

This course is cross-listed with EAST-225