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Writer's pictureLocutus

Exploring Prompts - Van Gogh and Japonisme

October 20th, 2024

A man and a woman walk through an orchard in the moonlight.
Lovers walking in a moonlit plum orchard under a starry night sky (Dall-e3 on NightCafe)

In this post I will explore what I have called the "Van Gogh and Japonisme" prompt. This prompt was inspired by my research into Utagawa Hiroshige, a Japanese Ukiyo-e artist whose works inspired Vincent van Gogh and others in the "Japonism Movement", a movement in which prominent European artists incorporated vivid colors, flattened perspectives, limited palettes, and 'unusual' viewpoints inspired by Japanese art into their works.


Basic Prompt Elements

Artist Modifiers - the main artist modifier, as the title suggests, is Vincent van Gogh. Another artist modifier I have used often is Utagawa Hiroshige.


Style Modifiers - the main style modifiers include post-impressionism, Japonisme, bold brushstrokes, impasto, depth, and moody.


Subject Modifiers - lovers walking in a moonlit plum orchard under a starry night sky


Starting Prompt

The prompt used for the image above was:


post-impressionism in the style of Vincent van Gogh, lovers walking in a moonlit plum orchard under a starry night sky, Japonisme, bold brushstrokes, impasto, depth, moody


Output prompt

Many AI models, such as Dall-e3, take the prompts your enter and revise them. This was the prompt that Dall-e3 created using the starting prompt above.


An image in the post-impressionistic style reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh's work. It depicts a couple, a Hispanic man and a South Asian woman, walking hand in hand amidst a moonlit plum orchard. The nocturnal sky above them bursts with numerous stars, creating a beautiful contrast with the dark ground below. The elements of Japonisme can easily be discerned in the scene's styling. Bold, impasto brushstrokes lend depth to the scene, along with a moody atmosphere that encapsulates the beautiful charm of Van Gogh's work.


Tip for Prompting

Use basic prompts like the starting prompt above to produce more variability in your images. Use more refined prompts like the output prompt above to narrow the range of images you might get a bit (although you can still get quite a bit of variability). In general, using the output prompts from models like Dall-e3 as inputs in new prompts can lead to many interesting variations.


Prompt Variation - Harpsichord and Player

A man plays a harpsichord in sunlit room.
Harpsichord and its player (Dall-e3 on NightCafe)

A variation of the "Van Gogh and Japonisme" prompt involves replacing the subject modifiers with "Harpsichord and its player". If you are using more complex versions of the prompt, you may need to make a few more adjustments to reflect the change in subject. The full input prompt for the image above was:


A widescreen Post-Impressionist scene inspired by the styles of Vincent van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige. The central focus is a harpsichord and its player, surrounded by bold brushstrokes and heavy impasto, creating a sense of texture and depth. Japonisme influences can be seen in the intricate, Japanese-inspired details on the harpsichord and the player’s attire. The atmosphere is moody and dramatic, with shadows and light playing across the scene in a way that blends van Gogh's emotional intensity with Hiroshige's serene balance. The overall composition exudes depth and rich color.


A man dressed in an oriental gown plays the harpsichord.
Harpsichord and its player (Flux PRO v1.1 on NightCafe)

Another method to explore is to use the same prompt with different models. Keep in mind that prompts that have been modified by Dall-e3 will tend to be most effective in Dall-e3, whereas prompts modified by other generative AI models will likely have outputs that work best in these models. With that said, you can still get some great results using the same prompt across different models. The image above was generated using the same prompt as the previous image in Flux PRO v1.1.


Prompt Variation - Old Fisherman and His Fishing Boat

A fisherman brings his boat into harbor.
Old fisherman and his fishing boat (Dall-e3 on ChatGPT)

The main variation of this image was to change the subject to 'an old fisherman and his fishing boat'. I used the output from a previous image and modified the underlined words to change the subject modifiers.


Starting Prompt

A widescreen Post-Impressionist scene inspired by the styles of Vincent van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige. The central focus is an old fisherman and his fishing boat, surrounded by bold brushstrokes and heavy impasto, creating a sense of texture and depth. Japonisme influences can be seen in the intricate, Japanese-inspired details on the fisherman and the fishing gear. The atmosphere is moody and dramatic, with shadows and light playing across the scene in a way that blends van Gogh's emotional intensity with Hiroshige's serene balance. The overall composition exudes depth and rich color.


Output Prompt

Even with such a detailed input prompt, Dall-e3 will still make some changes.


A widescreen Post-Impressionist scene inspired by the styles of Vincent van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige, featuring an old fisherman and his fishing boat. The scene is painted with bold brushstrokes and heavy impasto, creating a rich sense of texture and depth. Japonisme influences are visible in the intricate, Japanese-inspired details on the fisherman and his fishing gear. The atmosphere is moody and dramatic, with light and shadow playing across the scene, blending van Gogh's emotional intensity with Hiroshige's serene compositional balance. The overall composition exudes depth, vibrant color, and emotional resonance.


Prompt Variation - Fisherman and Pier (Whistler and Hokusai)

Fisherman on a pier.
Fisherman and Pier (Dall-e3 on ChatGPT)

At some point, a variation becomes its own prompt. In the image above used the framework from the "Van Gogh and Japonisme" prompt, but replaced Van Gogh with James Whistler and Utagawa Hiroshige with Katsushika Hokusai. Several of the style modifiers were changed as well to match Whistler's style, and the subject modifiers were "fisherman, pier".


Starting Prompt

A simple prompt was used:


James Whistler, Katsushika Hokusai, fisherman, pier, Japonisme, tonalism, minimalism, impasto, depth, dark, moody, serene


Output Prompt

Dalle-3 revised the starting prompt to:


A moody and serene scene inspired by the styles of James Whistler and Katsushika Hokusai, featuring a fisherman standing on a long pier. The painting combines tonalism and minimalism, with Japonisme influences in the intricate, Japanese-inspired details on the pier and the fisherman's attire. Bold impasto brushstrokes create texture and depth, while the overall composition is dark and atmospheric, blending Whistler's tonal mastery with Hokusai's unique perspective. The scene exudes a calm yet powerful mood, capturing the quiet majesty of the sea and the solitary figure of the fisherman.


If you use this prompt, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I would love to see any variations you come up with, too! Just leave a note below or contact me on NightCafe.


The "closing image" below used the same starting prompt as above.


A fisherman fishing at the end of a long pier.
Fisherman and Pier (Dall-e3 on ChatGPT)

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