Like much Asian art, White and Red Plum Blossoms, by Ogata Kōrin, shown here, is an idealized landscape rendered in simple forms. However, Ogata's extremely representational style and use of gold is a signature of the Rinpa school of Japan, which flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Due to Japan's isolationism in these centuries, artists could develop idiosyncratic styles which were distinct from other related cultural art forms.

Artwork from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogata_Korin_-_RED_AND_WHITE_PLUM_BLOSSOMS_(National_Treasure)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

White and Red Plum Blossoms by Ogata Kōrin is a large paper screen, made out of fine ink and gold leaf. The high quality materials used by Ogata for a screen make it a display item that could also be a functional element in a household. The screens created by Japanese artists in the Rinpa school, such as Ogata, were often one of the features of the homes of the elite and wealthy merchants in Edo Period Japan.

Artwork from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogata_Korin_-_RED_AND_WHITE_PLUM_BLOSSOMS_(National_Treasure)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Krishna is seen as the full incarnation of the god Vishnu in many forms of Hinudism, and is therefore an extremely popular subject in Hindu religious art. Krishna is most easily identifiable as having blue skin, which is related to the meaning of his name in Sanskrit, "the dark one."  Krishna has been worshipped as the supreme god since the middle ages in Hindu religious traditions.

This image, "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, is one of the iconic and indelible images of Japanes art. Done in the ukiyo-e woodblock printing style, the print is in many copies throughout the world, and in the usual fashion of nineteenth-century Japanese art, it depicts a dramatic force of nature in a landscape. Additionally, its formalism and representational elements are indicative of art from the Edo period (1603-1867).

The Dutch had quite an influence in Japan during this period; the Japanese adopted the "Dutch Learning," or Rangaku, philosophy to better understand Western European technological advances. Though the English did have some influence in Japan, the Dutch were far more influential in trade, ideology, and religion.

Kanagawa oki nama ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is from a series of forty-six woodblock prints by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai depicting different images of the largest and most iconic mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji, called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, and which had an additional ten added after its significant popularity. Mount Fuji is placed in the low point of the waves which are tossing around fishing boats, and is recognizable for its volcanic dome shape.

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The main structure of the painting is a massive storm wave tossing small ships at sea, which is why Katsushika Hokusai’s work is titled Kanagawa oki nama ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa). Despite this chaotic foreground scene, and its sense of destruction, the image of Mount Fuji framed by the wave also shows nature as something awe-inspiring and majestic.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katsushika_Hokusai,_published_by_Nishimuraya_Yohachi_(Eijudō)_-_Under_the_Wave_off_Kanagawa_(Kanagawa-oki_nami-ura),_also_known_as_the_Great_Wave,_from_the_series_T..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

As the Book of the Dead, from which the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer was taken, was seen by Egyptians as a crucial guide for the deceased buried in a tomb, portability was desirable. Placing it on papyrus, with a straightforward painting, made it relatively less imposing than carved stone or massive wall frescoes, but also easier to read through the different sections.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BD_Hunefer.jpg

Lamassus were believed to be atropopaic, or imbued with the power to ward off evil spirits or bad luck. They were placed outside the king's citadel to protect against just that. They would also be placed in gateways as guardians under archways.

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The figure of Anubis, the Egyptian God of the afterlife and mummification, was represented in Egyptian art as having the head of a jackal. His role was to help lead the newly deceased through the underworld, particularly to the ceremony of the weighing of the heart to judge whether the individual was morally upright enough to pass through the afterlife. This role makes him crucial to appear in a work such as The Book of the Dead, as he served a crucial role in the funerary rites.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BD_Hunefer.jpg