Chikanobu’s nostalgic prints come to FLLAC

Liza Darwin Assistant Arts Editor

Japanese woodblock print artist Yoshu Chikanobu explored a wide range of themes during his career, and influenced many international artists during the latter half of the 19th century. Chikanobu was the artistic leader of the Meiji period of 1868 to 1912, during which the emperor was reinstated and Japan underwent significant westernization. An exhibition of his early work, entitled Chikanobu: Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints, opened on March 23 at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (FLLAC).

Chikanobu was born to a samurai family in Edo (now Tokyo) in 1838, and was trained as a warrior. He also studied painting in the Kano tradition as part of his education. In the late 1860s, Chikanobu expressed his support for the old Tokugawa shogun rule instead of the emperor’s new authority and was captured twice by the imperial army. His political views influenced his art, as he made many warrior prints in addition to his genre scenes.

Chikanobu is known for his woodblock brocade prints, characterized by their detail and bright colors. His subjects range from historical to contemporary to mythological, but he is best known for his depictions of women’s clothing throughout the centuries, including both yofuku (Western clothing) and wafuku (traditional Japanese clothing). He is considered part of the larger ukiyo-e school, which depicted subjects from the “floating world,” a term used for often idealized and erotic prints that depicted domestic activities, famous beauties, courtesans and actors.

While Chikanobu’s earlier work reflects his enthusiasm for his artistic freedom, his attitude eventually shifts to nostalgia for traditional Japanese values. During the Meiji period, the emperor forced the opening of Japanese markets to Western goods. Along with these Western products came new ideas that transformed Japanese art, culture, and lifestyle. The Japanese ideals were considered by many people to be less valuable than their Western counterparts, so many Japanese were eager to discard their former beliefs in favor of new ones.

In the mid-1880s, many artists became critical of Western artistic style and technique, the novelty of which generated much publicity. In response, Chikanobu began making prints celebrating Japanese history and sociopolitical customs.

Chikanobu’s career is marked by the same divisions between the traditional and the progressive. Critics of the artist note that he seems to have a split personality in his paintings; some prints are garish, loud, and composed of contrasting colors that grab the viewer’s attention, while others are subtle, with lighter colors blended together. Chikanobu’s “split personality” is said to signify the two phases of his career: the time with his master, Kunichika, a painter in the traditional style, and the time afterwards during which he discovered a more progressive style.

Patricia Phagan, the Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at FLLAC, said that Chikanobu stressed the importance of women in his prints, using them (and their clothing) to represent the contrast between traditional Japanese and modern Western ideas.
“In his pictures of the floating world, Chikanobu placed brilliant colors, especially reds, purples, greens and blues, in frequently grand, jolting combinations, and early on he often clothed his figures in western dress,” Phagan said. Ironically, Japanese women were considered the keepers of social tradition and custom.

Art historians draw comparisons between Chikanobu and Western artists working in the same period. For example, French painter Edouard Manet, the “father of Impressionism,” was directly influenced by Japanese prints created by artists working in the same time and style as Chikanobu. Many of Manet’s subjects appear two-dimensional and pop out noticeably from the background, much like the figures in Chikanobu’s woodblock prints. Both of these artists reveal the beauty of artifice in art—the idea that the artist can, and should, be in complete control of what the viewer sees.

The exhibition at Vassar contains about 60 prints, all from the collection of Scripps College in Claremont, Calif. This traveling exhibition is coordinated with several liberal arts colleges around the country. The exhibit will remain on display in the FLLAC until May 13.