Japanese Woodblock Prints
Early 1800s Edo Portrait Prints
Woodcut
Antique 19th Century Japanese Edo Prints
Wood
Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique 19th Century Meiji Prints
Paper
1860s Edo Portrait Prints
Woodcut
Antique 18th Century Books
Other
Mid-20th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Mid-19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
20th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Edo Prints
Paper
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Prints
Paper
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Early 20th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut, Paper
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
1850s Edo Figurative Prints
Paper, Ink, Woodcut
21st Century and Contemporary Books
Paper
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
1850s Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut, Paper, Ink
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
1850s Edo Figurative Prints
Paper, Ink, Woodcut
Antique 19th Century Japanese Prints
Wood, Paper
1850s Edo Landscape Prints
Woodcut
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Vintage 1970s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Prints
Paper
1860s Edo Figurative Prints
Paper, Ink
Antique 19th Century Japanese Prints
Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Vintage 1960s Japanese Showa Prints
Paper
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
Woodcut
Antique Mid-18th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique 19th Century Japanese Prints
Glass, Paint, Paper
1950s Modern Portrait Prints
Woodcut
Antique 1810s Japanese Prints
Paper
1970s Minimalist Abstract Prints
Gold Leaf
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Prints
Paper
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Looking for Original Japanese Woodblock Prints?
For concision, power and delight, it’s hard to beat Japanese woodblock prints, the products of an artistic tradition that is aging very well indeed.
The genre, unique to Japan, grew out of 17th-century developments in printing and book publishing. The form became known as “picture of the floating world,” an evocative name that captures the dreaminess of many of the scenes (which were often erotic). In an overview of the years from 1680 to 1938 in Taschen’s Japanese Woodblock Prints, author Andreas Marks presents the reader with a brief history of the development of woodblocks, describing for example how extra colors were added, and then devotes most of the following chapters to significant individual artists over the centuries. Four of the most common subjects are delineated: beauties, actors, landscapes and bird-and-flower compositions. Famous for book illustrations as well as paintings, Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai captured the grand power of nature by depicting Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest peak, as a tiny triangle seemingly being swallowed by an enormous wave in his The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Some of the great creators of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), are still well known, their works frequently shown in museums today. European artists like Van Gogh and Manet were indelibly influenced by them, for reasons that are plain.
But Marks’s stated aim is to spread his attention around and not “single out the handful of ‘stars’ commonly found in books and exhibitions.” Some of the later talents covered in his compendium — like the relatively unfamiliar Yamamura Koka (also known as Toyonari), whose beguiling 1920s works convey suggestions of the Jazz Age — the heady, optimistic era between the end of World War I and the crash of 1929 — may be the biggest revelations.
Find a collection of original Japanese woodblock prints for sale on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Japanese woodblock prints, which date back to the 8th century and are also known as ukiyo-e, are a traditional art form originally produced only in Buddhist monasteries to produce religious texts and images. In the 17th century, private studios began opening as woodblock prints became popular. To make a woodblock print, the artist creates a design on paper, and a wood carver places it on the block and carves the design. Each color requires its own woodblock, which are then covered with watercolors and printed on rice paper. On 1stDibs, find a variety of Japanese woodblock prints from top sellers around the world.