The ukiyo-e genre of art flourished in Japan from the 17th to the 19th century. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties, kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers, scenes from history and folk tales, travel scenes and landscapes, flora and fauna, and erotica. The term ukiyo-e refers to pictures of the ukiyo or "floating world" of kabuki theatre, courtesans, and geisha of the pleasure districts. Images of this environment became successful in the 1670s with Moronobu's paintings and monochromatic prints of beautiful women. By the 1740s, artists such as Masanobu were using multiple woodblocks to print areas of colour. In the 1760s, with the success of Harunobu's "brocade prints", full-colour production of prints made with numerous blocks became standard. Portraits of beauties and actors by masters such as Kiyonaga, Utamaro, and Sharaku were prominent in the late 18th century. Masters from the 19th century include the bold formalist Hokusai, whose Great Wave off Kanagawa is one of the best- known works of Japanese art, and the serene, atmospheric Hiroshige, most noted for his series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1658:
Anglo-Spanish War: English colonial forces repelled a Spanish attack in the largest battle ever fought on the island of Jamaica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rio_Nuevo
1950:
The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre- dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
1967:
More than an estimated 400 million people viewed Our World, the first live international satellite television production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_World_(TV_special)
2009:
Singer Michael Jackson died as a result of the combination of drugs in his body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Michael_Jackson
2013:
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the eighth Emir of Qatar, and is currently the world's youngest reigning monarch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamim_bin_Hamad_Al_Thani
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
glen: A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a dale; a depression between hills. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/glen
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Forgive him who wrongs you; join him who cuts you off; do good to him who does evil to you; and speak the truth even if it be against yourself. --Muhammad https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muhammad