Screech, T: Obtaining Images

Timon Screech

ISBN 10: 1861898142 / ISBN 13: 9781861898142

Published by Reaktion Books, 2012

About this Item

KlappentextrnrnIn this highly illustrated, engaging and comprehensive survey, Timon Screech introduces the important artists of Edo period Japan and their work, as well as the issues and concepts surrounding the production and consumption of art.

Seller Inventory # 2298959076

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Screech, T: Obtaining Images
• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1861898142
• ISBN 13: 9781861898142
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The Edo period (1603-1868) witnessed one of the great flowerings of Japanese art. Towards the mid-seventeenth century the Japanese States were largely at peace, and rapid urbanization, a rise in literacy and an increase in international contact ensued. The number of those able to purchase luxury goods, or who felt their social position required them, soared. At the same time, painters and artists were flourishing and the early eighteenth century saw the rise in popularity and importance of printmaking. While there were dominant styles and trends throughout the composite Japanese polity, the 'Tenka', there were also those peculiar to specific regions: most striking was the difference between the cultural and artistic styles of the 'Kanto' (Kyoto) and those of the 'Kamigata' (Osaka and Edo). In Obtaining Images, Timon Screech introduces the reader not only to important artists and their work, but also to the intellectual issues and concepts surrounding the production and consumption of art in Japan at that time. Rather than looking at art in the Edo period through the lens of European art, Screech contextualizes the making and use of painting and prints, elucidating how and why works were commissioned, where they were displayed and what special properties were attributed to them. The author argues that different imperatives are at work in the art of different traditions, and firmly anchors the art of Japan of this period in its contemporary context, offering a highly engaging and comprehensive introduction to the student and general reader alike.

About the Author

Timon Screech is Professor in the History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the author of several books on Japanese history and culture, including Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan, 1700-1820 (Reaktion, 1999) and The Shogun's Painted Culture: Fear and Creativity in the Japanese States, 1760-1829 (Reaktion, 2000).