Presenter: William Crowley
Faculty Mentor: Roxanne Prazniak
Presentation Type: Poster 55
Primary Research Area: Humanities
Major: Chemistry
The valued characteristics of art and aesthetics has differed over time and across cultures, however with these seeming differences art can still be used to link cultures and people together. From different backgrounds, artists Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), a Dutch post-impressionist painter and Utagawa Hirosghige (1797-1858), an Edo period Japanese printmaker, came to depict the same motifs of nature in their art work. Through a comparative historiographical analysis of the social and economic conditions in which Vincent Van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige created their works of art, I have highlighted how these two artists, though influenced by different social factors and artistic traditions, came to cultivate a common dedication and reverence to depict nature. The connection between theses seemingly different yet quite similar artists highlights the cross-cultural connection of art as a universal form of human expression. These artists experienced the elements of social, economic, religious, technological, and artistic tradition to different extents. Yet, both pondered and desired to portray nature, the striking similarities in their artistic backgrounds as portrait painters, reverence for religion, and attention to nature link these two artists.