Impressions of Japan

Showcases a collection of rare Japanese woodblock prints gifted to the Swiss Musée Jenisch Vevey.

In 2015, the Swiss Musée Jenisch Vevey received a bequest that also comprised around 2,000 Japanese colored woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). Many of them originated from the workshops of the most famous artists of the Utagawa school, who were active between 1765 and 1930 and are rarely represented in European collections. They stand out due to their fine printing technique, the use of precious materials and vibrant colors, as well as their excellent state of preservation.

Impressions of Japan features two hundred ukiyo-e alongside several rare preparatory drawings (shita-e), which are pasted onto the block for printing and usually get destroyed during the printing process. The prints depict kabuki theater scenes, textile art, the joys and pleasures of Japanese society, famous fairy tales, and travels in and around the landscapes of Japan. Scholarly essays and an appendix offering explanations of printmaking techniques, types of paper used, and printmaking in twenty-first-century Japan supplement the images. This beautifully designed book will appeal particularly to experts and lovers of colored Japanese woodblock prints.

Anne Deltour is curator of prints and drawings at Musée Jenisch Vevey in Switzerland.
 

Margaux Honegger is assistant curator at Musée Jenisch Vevey in Switzerland.