The ukiyo-e blues: an analysis of the influence of Prussian blue on ukiyo-e in the 1830s

Abstract

© 1994 Gary HickeyThe evolution of the full-colour print in Japan has been widely documented and discussed. Conspicuous by its absence in this scholarship is consideration of the role of the colour blue, a colour of great historical and cultural significance to the Japanese. Study of colour in ukiyo-e is fraught with technical difficulties. Because of the fugitive nature of the organic pigments used in the early ukiyo-e prints we can only speculate about their original appearance. This is particularly true of the readily visible, but highly fugitive, blue pigments. Scientific analysis of these colourants has been restricted by the intrusive nature of tests designed to identify them, but recently developed non-intrusive tests of later pigments, specifically Prussian blue, have allowed precise conclusions to be drawn regarding this pigment. Armed with more definitive scientifically based information it is possible to place the prints using this pigment in their historical and social context, and to understand their artistic significance more clearly. Of particular significance is the period following the introduction of Prussian blue, from Prussia in the early 1800s. In this period we can observe a dynamic process of interaction between long-established indigenous traditions and foreign influences. This dissertation, therefore, examines the influence of Prussian blue on the evolution of ukiyo-e in the first half of the nineteenth century. By looking at the work of the two major artists of this period, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858), both of whom presented different aspects of Japanese sensibility, I will investigate the way they used and interpreted blue, particularly Prussian blue. Selected examples of their work will be set against the social and political circumstances of the era. The key issue considered is whether the introduction of a new technology, in this instance a chemically based pigment, caused a fundamental change in the tradition of colour usage in Japan or whether it was simply adapted to suit in the light of long-established traditions of older blue types. In order to address this issue, the history of the use of blue, or ao , in Japanese painting will be investigated. This is followed by a close analysis of nine works by Hokusai, Hiroshige and their contemporary artist, Utagawa Toyokuni II (1777-1835). These works are analysed in the light of their contemporary social circumstances, their historical roots and their relevance to the appearance of Prussian blue. I will also look at the unique development known as aizuri-e ('blue prints'), used to showcase this new pigment. The Japanese prints used in this study are for the most part from the collection in the National Gallery of Victoria. The prints were purchased in 1909-1910 under the terms of the Felton Bequest. The 1909 collection came from the Happer collection at Sotheby's, the selection being made for Mr F.W. Gibson, adviser, 1908-15 on behalf of the Felton Bequest by F.E. Strange of the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1961, commenting on the 1909 purchase, Ursula Hoff said that 'the woodcuts form a representative collection of most aspects of Japanese woodcuts making and contains some first class impressions of famous works.' The one work not from the National Gallery of Victoria is Hokusai's Gaifu Kaisei ('South-wind, Clear-dawn'), which is from the Tokyo National Museum. It should be noted in passing that the term 'blue' does not have pornographic connotations: 'blue prints' should not be interpreted to imply anything other than the colouring used