They live the essences of Japanese painting

Japanese painting is one of the most emblematic in the world, and understanding its evolution is complicated due to the large number of influences and materials that are used. However, the book Stroke and color: essences of Japanese painting manages to break that barrier and make your understanding easier.

Written by the teachers Yayoi Kawamura and Pilar Cabañas Moreno, and edited by Satori, the book performs the titanic task of doing a visual exercise, a work of simplifying the convoluted history of Japanese pictorial art.

In an interview with The dayKawamura explained that this book It is the work of many years of Pilar and mine. We wanted to fill it with boxes and details so that readers could understand the techniques and way of working of artists.

In the introduction, a recapitulation of the periods of Japanese history is made, from the Kofun (in the third century), in which primitive pictorial representations appear in funeral mutules, to the Meiji dynasty (which begins in 1868), when Japan He decides to reopen their borders to the world after more than two centuries remain isolated.

Our intention was that this book does not have to read linearly, but you can simply open any chapter or decide what current you want to study and ready, you have everything clear to understand how artisans workedalso commented by the Japanese art specialist at the University of Oviedo.

Despite its isolation, Japanese painting went through a complex process. There were influences that allowed many changes; The first was because of its proximity to China; A second would be the arrival of a foreign religion that permeated the history of the country in all its areas: Buddhism.

I believe that without a doubt the most important period of changes in ancient art was the interpretation of Buddhism that came from India. From there there is an emphasis and advance in sculptural art to make these gigantic statues; They also start working the lacquer and also these simple and minimalist paintings about divinity and meditationsaid Kawamura.

Subsequently, Japanese pictorial art changed its vision to adhere to feudal militarism. The clash of the kingdoms and clans that fought to unify the archipelago in its own way was embodied in paintings and watercolors. Peace periods were few and therefore the art center was to show these clashes that resume an epic sense.

In the Edo period, with the Tokugawa shogunate, it focuses more on the lifestyle of the Japanese elite, although little by little it reflects the lifestyle of the popular classes. This generated a social reflection, because the Japanese borders were closed to the world and the artists focused on translate their identity more.

With works such as La Gran Ola de Kanagawa y Autumn leavesthe book teaches to identify the type of strokes, brushes and tools used in each era, as well as the characteristics of the currents.

From the classic images that are analyzed in this book, its contribution and innovation to the art of its time stands out. From the technique that was used, the year of creation and the enclosure in which the pieces are located.

Yayoi Kawamura commented: Our goal is not only to teach about the masterpieces individually, but their evolution. How was this current born? How is you merging a way to paint with another?

The book crumbles the techniques of the Yamato-E, Suibokuga, Kano, Rimpa and Ukiyoe, among others. Many of these currents were also influenced by the architectural changes they had at different stages: Art is part of people’s life space and that is why it permeated a lot in the pieces they madeObserve Kawamura.

One of the points that the expert rescues is precisely the work of lacquer, material that unites Japan with Mexico, although the latter was still in the colonial period under the Spanish mandate. However, Viceroyalty painters used this material to work, which came from Japanese lands.

The specialist explained that the watercolor technique was the favorite of the Japanese, since The role of there was much softer, something ideal for that type of painting, in addition to being surrounded by the sea it meant something special. Oil did not permeate as such until modern times. Japanese art was a reason for euphoria among European collectors and an aura of mysticism was created that remains so farhe concluded.