From the portrait of the naturalist writer Émile Zola by Édouard Manet, seated among his Japanese artistic finds, to Van Gogh's careful copies from Hiroshige's prints, the 19th-century pioneers of European modernism did not hide their love for Japanese art. All this sensuality, freedom, and rejuvenation of the woodblock prints is credited with the wave of japonaiserie that initially astonished France and later the whole of Europe, but often remains misunderstood as an "exotic" object that helped inspire Western creativity.

The truth is that Japanese woodblock printing is a phenomenon unmatched in the West. Some of the most subversive ideas in modern art, including that "all that is solid melts into air," as Karl Marx said, were invented in Japan in the 18th century and expressed as never before in the designs of great masters like Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige in the early 19th century.

This edition reveals a much-loved but scarcely understood art form, presenting the most exquisite Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. From the development of decadent ukiyo-e in the 17th century to the decline and subsequent revival of prints in the early 20th century, the images gathered in this edition compose a record not only of a unique genre in art history but also of Japan's changing mores and cultural development.

We discover the four pillars of woodblock printing—beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions—alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, or enchanting courtesans—rock stars inhabiting the "floating world" and whose admirers supported the vibrant production of woodblock prints. We explore the terrifying and the ambiguous in prints where demons, ghosts, and other supernatural entities haunt the living—striking images that continue to influence Japanese manga, cinema, and video games to this day.

Through their astonishing variety, from everyday scenes to erotic art, from war to myth, these works combine the technical prowess and unmistakable insight of their creators and how, with great ingenuity and witty humor, publishers and artists worked to circumvent governmental restrictions. This edition gathers the best offerings from museums and private collections worldwide, accompanied by descriptions that guide us through this intense period in the history of Japanese art.

Pages: 96, Year of Publication: 0930, Dimensions: 21x21cm