The Floating World, or ukiyo-e, refers to Japanese woodblock prints and paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries. This period saw a flowering of Japanese art by master artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. When Japan opened to the West in the mid-1800s, Japanese prints had a huge influence on artists like Whistler, Degas, and Monet. There might not have been Impressionism without these Japanese prints. Even today, Hokusai’s Great Wave and Hiroshige’s View of Mount Fuji appear on everything from tee shirts to mugs. Art historian Lisa Kent examines these special art forms which remain as fascinating and beautiful as ever.
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