Schetsen van bloemen en vogels van Seitei - deel één 1890

Watanabe Seitei produced this book of sketches, titled 'Sketches of Flowers and Birds', during the Meiji era in Japan. The Meiji era, spanning from 1868 to 1912, was a time of rapid modernization and Westernization. Seitei himself traveled to Paris in 1878, exhibiting his work and absorbing Western artistic techniques. Yet, he remained deeply rooted in traditional Japanese art. How does this book reflect such cultural exchange? Note the delicate brushwork characteristic of traditional Japanese painting, but also the subtle use of Western perspective. Consider also the emerging role of the artist in Meiji Japan, where they had to negotiate between tradition and modernity, local and global. Art historical research into this period might explore how the production and reception of Japanese art changed as Japan opened up to the world. What was preserved? What was discarded? And what new forms of expression emerged? The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.