Heroes of the Stage and Beauties of the Night

The Japanese woodcut is one of the rare forms of cultural expression that only attain immortality after being transferred into another culture. Created between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the ukiyo-e woodcut has been counted among the most influential Japanese contributions to world art since the late nineteenth century. Painters like Monet and Van Gogh succumbed to their charm, followed by numerous artists and collectors all over the world. The subject of this publication are two of the most important German ukiyo-e collections, which present all of the great artists and themes of this genre, including theatre prints, scenes from the red light districts, and topographical landscapes – from the early phases through to the classic masters of courtesan and actor’s portraits, Utamaro and Sharaku, and including the great names of later years like Hokusai and Hiroshige. Over 240 woodcuts offer a representative survey of the most important chapters of this great Japanese art form.