Art Techniques: Woodblock, Porcelain, and More

Woodblock Prints

• Created through a relief painting process, carving the image into wood, inking the raised areas, and layering prints for a multi-colored effect
• Relatively affordable, depicting popular subjects, catering to a large audience.
• Required a team of specialists: woodcutters and printers.
• Predated porcelain, but porcelain's demand increased later.

Porcelain

• A smooth, translucent ceramic made from kaolin clay, fired at high temperatures.
• Originated in China.
• Became popular with royalty in the 15th century.
• Demand for porcelain exceeded woodblock prints' demand.

Chaekgeori (Korean Folding Screens)

• Ink and color on silk folding screens.
• Flourished in 18th-century Korea, due to King JoengJo's interest.
• Often depicted auspicious items as symbols of good luck, prosperity.
• Used trompe l’oeil techniques.
• May use linear perspective, borrowed from European paintings.

Trompe l’oeil

• French for "deceive/fool the eye."
• A painting technique that creates a visual illusion, resembling a three-dimensional object.
• Used in Korean folding screens, especially in works like Yi Taek-gyun's Chaekgeori.

Linear Perspective

• A system of representing three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface using vanishing points and geometry.
• Popular in Dutch paintings, and used in some Korean folding screens.

Illusionism

• Creates the illusion that something is present when it's not.
• Makes the physical nature of depicted objects more convincing.

Ukiyo-e ("Pictures of the Floating World")

• Represents a distinct entertainment and pleasure culture in Edo (present-day Tokyo).
• Features scenes of Edo's pleasure districts and landscapes.
• Includes Buddhist themes, emphasizing detachment from the world.
• Examples include Katsushika Hokusai's "Under the Wave off Kanagawa."

Prussian Blue

• A synthetic deep blue dye that became affordable in early 19th-century China.
• Allowed for the use of this expensive dye in cheaper images.
• Improved tonal range and vibrancy in artworks.

Glazed White Porcelain "Moon" Jars

• Joseon dynasty, 18th century.
• Characterized by circular shapes, lack of ornamentation, and undecorated smoothness—no gold rims or vegetal designs.
• Viewed as simple, virtuous, and desirable due to Korean Confucian values.
• Natural beauty of the glaze, including imperfections from the process, were celebrated.

Yi Taek-gyun's Chaekgeori (Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements)

• 1800s Joseon dynasty, ten-panel folding screen.
• Korean folding screen that uses trompe l’oeil techniques and linear perspective borrowed from European paintings for heightened realism.
• Depicts auspicious objects.

Katsushika Hokusai's "Under the Wave off Kanagawa"

• 1830–32, polychrome woodblock print.
• Depicts Mount Fuji, a symbol of strength and stability, from various viewpoints.
• Shows landscape vistas, including villages.
• A famous example of Ukiyo-e, achieving fame in the industrialized era.
• A combination of Japanese sensibilities and European perspective, with a dynamic wave and low horizon line.
• Produced as a collaborative effort from a team.
• The painting was a reflection of Japan's social hierarchy and isolationist policies against foreign powers.

Johannes Vermeer

• Born in Delft (Netherlands) in 1632.
• Produced a small but exquisite body of work—only 35 paintings known to scholars out of 50.
• Had a devoted patron who purchased half of his work.
• Supported by his wife and mother-in-law.
• Master of descriptive ambiguity, painting genre scenes with one light source and complementary colours (blues and yellows).
• Specialized in domestic and interior scenes of middle-class life.
• His art was a visual expression, describing the scene visually rather than storytelling.
• Paintings were small, offering little windows into the world.
• Not famous until after his death—paintings remained in the Netherlands.
• Examples include "Woman Holding a Balance" (c. 1664) and "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (1665).

Rembrandt van Rijn

• Worked in all genres available to artists—landscapes, religious, historical paintings.
• Talented draftsman.
• Remarkable for representing an extraordinary depth of humanity and detail in expression.
• Best known for portraits, making his subjects feel close and loved, including many self-portraits to create an autobiography or representation of his life through art.
• Born in the Netherlands.
• Painted Saint Bartholomew, a representation of a known figure with a human approach, despite historical portrayals.
• Examples include "Self-Portrait" (1659).

Dutch Republic (1581 - 1795)

• Seven northern provinces.
• Became prosperous quickly through trade (rain timber, cheese, carrots, cauliflower, tulips, and colonies in South America, West Africa, Sri Lanka, and South Asia).
• Had massive access to sugar and various goods.
• Highest per capita income in Europe.
• Center of economy = foreign trade of sugar, timber, and slaves (labor).
• Many highly priced luxury items found their way into art.
• Governed by elected citizens (votes)—elites, not kings or queens.
• More religiously tolerant.
• Much more significant middle class.
• Millions of paintings produced, distributed through private commissions and robust trade networks.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Systems of representation: How someone or something is depicted and perceived. Examples include portraiture, icons, beauty standards.
• Identity: How we perceive and express ourselves – a combination of innate factors and social constructs.
• Portraiture: A close study of a person, conveying their identity.
• Sfumato: A shading technique (used by Da Vinci), creating a smoky haziness and enhancing the sculpted qualities of the depicted.
• Genre painting: Depicts people in everyday life, typically for houses, not palaces.

ARTWORK (Memorize only the artist, title, and date)

• Johannes Vermeer, "Woman Holding a Balance," c. 1664 (dimensions: 40 x 35 cm)
• Johannes Vermeer, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," 1665 (dimensions: 44 x 39 cm)
• Rembrandt, "Self-Portrait," 1659 (dimensions: 123 x 104 cm)

Explore various art techniques and their historical significance in this quiz. From the intricate details of woodblock prints to the elegance of porcelain and the cultural richness of Chaekgeori, discover how these forms have influenced art. Test your knowledge on trompe l’oeil and its application in creating illusions.