Drifting into a night sky: An investigation of Ukiyo-E's influence o Van Gogh's craft

The dissertation Drifting into a night sky explores the influence of the Japanese woodcut art Ukiyo-E on the latter part of Van Gogh’s artistry, specifically his time at the Saint-Paul asylum. The thesis begins by examining the key characteristics of the Ukiyo-E movement and follows by exploring Van Gogh’s Japonism, to explain what principles of the art style fascinated and influenced Van Gogh. Afterward, the effects of his Japanese muse on his artistry are analysed. The visual and mostly literary analysis used during this part of the research shows how the Japanese influence might have changed his craft or view up until his stay at Saint-Paul. The thesis finalizes the research by comparing paintings of Van Gogh from the asylum period with Ukiyo-E prints through literary and visual analysis, supported by the context created by earlier chapters. Finally, the exploration done during each of the chapters and most of all the final visual research will result in the formulation of a conclusion.AR2A011Architectural History ThesisArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Science