Masters of Japanese Prints
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery owns about 500 Japanese woodblock prints, 'floating world pictures' or ukiyo-e which allow us to explore many facets of Japan's history and culture. The collection, showcased in a series of three exhibitions in 2018 - 2019, ranks in the top five regional collections in the UK.
22 September 2018 - 8 September 2019
Hokusai and Hiroshige Landscapes
This exhibition explores the radical developments in landscape prints made in the 1830s by two of Japan's best-loved artists, Hokusai and Hiroshige, selected from Bristol's fine collection of woodblock prints.
22 September 2018 - 6 January 2019
To see an online version of this exhibition, click here
Life in the City
By the 18th century, Japan's capital, Edo (today's Tokyo), was the largest city in the world with over one million inhabitants. Many of its merchants and townspeople were comfortably off and they could afford fine fashion, eating out and visits to the theatre or 'pleasure quarters'. This selection of woodblock prints from Bristol's collection allows glimpses of the sophisticated urban scene in Japan over 250 years ago.
12 January 2019 - 12 May 2019
To see an online version of this exhibition, click here
This exhibition, selected from around 500 woodblock prints in Bristol's collection, celebrates Japan's love of nature and the turning seasons, from cherry blossom viewing to images of birds and insects.
18 May 2019 - 8 September 2019
Online version of this exhibition click here
image (1): Katsushika Hokusai, The Hollow of the Deep Sea Wave off Kanagawa, 1830-1831 [Mb4862]
image (2): Isoda Koryusai, A Party in the Yoshiwara, 1775 [Mb4469]
image (3): Utagawa Hiroshige I, Red Maple Trees at the Tsutenkyo Bridge, 1834 [Mb4281]