FUJI FOG by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel’s art series “100 VIEWS” is based on Japanese UKIYO-E woodblock prints. These pictures are available as signed and numbered limited edition fine art prints. Contact Bob Kessel for pricing and availability.

Ukiyo-e (浮世絵), “pictures of the floating world”, is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan.

Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as “floating world” in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and a realm of entertainments (kabuki, courtesans, geisha) divorced from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world; “pictures of the floating world”, i.e. ukiyo-e, are considered a genre unto themselves.

The art form rose to great popularity in the metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo) during the second half of the 17th century, originating with the single-color works of Hishikawa Moronobu in the 1670s. At first, only India ink was used, then some prints were manually colored with a brush, but in the 18th century Suzuki Harunobu developed the technique of polychrome printing to produce nishiki-e.

Ukiyo-e were affordable because they could be mass-produced. They were mainly meant for townsmen, who were generally not wealthy enough to afford an original painting. The original subject of ukiyo-e was city life, in particular activities and scenes from the entertainment district. Beautiful courtesans, bulky sumo wrestlers and popular actors would be portrayed while engaged in appealing activities. Later on landscapes also became popular. Political subjects, and individuals above the lowest strata of society (courtesans, wrestlers and actors) were not sanctioned in these prints and very rarely appeared. Sex was not a sanctioned subject either, but continually appeared in ukiyo-e prints. Artists and publishers were sometimes punished for creating these sexually explicit shunga.

DREI BLAUE PFERDE by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel’s art series “Horsing Around” is full of horses depicted in several styles throughout art history. These pictures are available as signed and numbered limited edition original fine art prints. Contact Bob Kessel for pricing and availability.

GRAYSCAPE by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel has created a new art series titled, “GRAYSCAPES” based on Japanese and Chinese ink wash paintings. The pictures are available as limited edition fine art prints, signed and numbered by the artist. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

BIJINGA by Bob Kessel

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Bob Kessel has created a new art series titled, “BIJINGA” based on the Ukiyo-e  genre wood block prints. The pictures are available as limited edition fine art prints, signed and numbered by the artist. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

BIJINGA (美人画) is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre, which predate photography. The term can also be used for modern media, provided they conform to a somewhat classic representation of a woman, usually depicted wearing a kimono.

Nearly all ukiyo-e artists produced BIJINGA, it being one of the central themes of the genre. However, a few, including Utamaro, Suzuki Harunobu, Toyohara Chikanobu, and Torii Kiyonaga are widely regarded as the greatest innovators and masters of the form.