Kamisaka Sekka

Kamisaka Sekka was a Japanese painter and woodblock print–maker in the 19th and 20th century. Born into a Samurai family, Sekka was one of the last artists to practice according to the traditional Rinpa school school of painting. As the Rinpa style became increasingly outdated and unpopular, the Japanese government sent Sekka and other artists to Europe to learn about Modernism. Sekka became interested in Art Nouveau and investigated growing Western adaptations of Japanese style. He returned to Japan and taught other artist to paint in a more modern style, with large areas of bright color and imprecise definitions of form.