Japonaiserie (van Gogh)
Encyclopedia
Japonaiserie was the term the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh
used to express the influence of Japanese art.
Before 1854 trade with Japan was confined to a Dutch monopoly and Japanese goods imported into Europe were for the most part confined to porcelain and lacquer ware. The Convention of Kanagawa
put an end to the 200 year old Japanese foreign policy of Seclusion
and opened up trade between Japan and the West.
Artists such as Manet
, Degas and Monet, followed by Van Gogh, began to collect the cheap colour wood-block prints called ukiyo-e prints
. For a while Vincent and his brother Theo
dealt in these prints and they eventually amassed hundreds of them (now housed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam).
In a letter to Theo dated about 5 June 1888 Vincent remarks
A month later he wrote,
's theory of colour and where he used them to decorate his studio.
During his subsequent stay in Paris, where Japonisme
had become a fashion influencing the work of the Impressionists, he began to collect ukiyo-e prints and eventually to deal in them with his brother Theo. At that time he made three copies of ukiyo-e prints, The Courtesan and the two studies after Hiroshige
.
Van Gogh developed an idealised conception of the Japanese artist which led him to the Yellow House
at Arles
and his attempt to form a utopian art colony
there with Paul Gauguin
.
His enthusiasm for Japanese art had however waned by July 1888 in favour of Impressionism
Van Gogh's dealing in ukiyo-e prints brought him into contact with Siegfried Bing who was prominent in the introduction of Japanese art to the West and later in the development of Art Nouveau
.
Characteristic features of ukiyo-e woodprints include their ordinary subject matter, the distinctive cropping of their compositions, bold and assertive outlines, absent or unusual perspective, flat regions of uniform colour, uniform lighting, absence of chiaroscuro
, and their emphasis on decorative patterns. One or more of these features can be found in numbers of Vincent's paintings from his Antwerp period onwards.
who may have inspired van Gogh's utopian notion of the Japanese artist:
The cover carried a reverse image of a colour woodblock by Keisai Eisen
depicting a Japanese courtesan or Oiran
. Vincent traced this and enlarged it to produce his painting.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
used to express the influence of Japanese art.
Before 1854 trade with Japan was confined to a Dutch monopoly and Japanese goods imported into Europe were for the most part confined to porcelain and lacquer ware. The Convention of Kanagawa
Convention of Kanagawa
On March 31, 1854, the or was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Tokugawa shogunate.-Treaty of Peace and Amity :...
put an end to the 200 year old Japanese foreign policy of Seclusion
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
and opened up trade between Japan and the West.
Artists such as Manet
Manet
-MANET as an abbreviation:*MANET is a mobile ad hoc network, a self-configuring mobile wireless network.*MANET database or Molecular Ancestry Network, bioinformatics database-People with the surname Manet:*Édouard Manet, a 19th-century French painter....
, Degas and Monet, followed by Van Gogh, began to collect the cheap colour wood-block prints called ukiyo-e prints
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
. For a while Vincent and his brother Theo
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
dealt in these prints and they eventually amassed hundreds of them (now housed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam).
In a letter to Theo dated about 5 June 1888 Vincent remarks
- About staying in the south, even if it’s more expensive — Look, we love Japanese painting, we’ve experienced its influence — all the Impressionists have that in common — [so why not go to Japan], in other words, to what is the equivalent of Japan, the south? So I believe that the future of the new art still lies in the south after all.
A month later he wrote,
- All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art...
Influence of Japanese art on Van Gogh
Van Gogh's interest in Japanese ukiyo-e prints dates from his time in Arnhem when he was also interesting himself in DelacroixEugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
's theory of colour and where he used them to decorate his studio.
- One of De Goncourt’sJules de GoncourtJules de Goncourt , born Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, who published books together with his brother Edmond.- Works :With Edmond de Goncourt:* Sœur Philomène...
sayings was ‘Japonaiserie for ever’. Well, these docks [at Arnhem] are one huge Japonaiserie, fantastic, singular, strange ... I mean, the figures there are always in motion, one sees them in the most peculiar settings, everything fantastic, and interesting contrasts keep appearing of their own accord.
During his subsequent stay in Paris, where Japonisme
Japonism
Japonism, or Japonisme, the original French term, was first used in 1872 by Jules Claretie in his book L'Art Francais en 1872 and by Philippe Burty in Japanisme III. La Renaissance Literaire et Artistique in the same year...
had become a fashion influencing the work of the Impressionists, he began to collect ukiyo-e prints and eventually to deal in them with his brother Theo. At that time he made three copies of ukiyo-e prints, The Courtesan and the two studies after Hiroshige
Hiroshige
was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige ....
.
Van Gogh developed an idealised conception of the Japanese artist which led him to the Yellow House
Yellow House (Arles)
The Yellow House is the title generally given to an oil painting by the 19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.This title refers to the right wing of the building, 2, Place Lamartine, Arles, France, the house where, on May 1, 1888, Van Gogh rented four rooms, two large ones...
at Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
and his attempt to form a utopian art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
there with Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
.
His enthusiasm for Japanese art had however waned by July 1888 in favour of Impressionism
- Fortunately, we know more about the French Japanese, the Impressionists. That’s definitely the essence and the main thing.
- So Japanese art, properly speaking, already with its place in collections, already impossible to find in Japan itself, is becoming of secondary interest.
Van Gogh's dealing in ukiyo-e prints brought him into contact with Siegfried Bing who was prominent in the introduction of Japanese art to the West and later in the development of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
.
Characteristic features of ukiyo-e woodprints include their ordinary subject matter, the distinctive cropping of their compositions, bold and assertive outlines, absent or unusual perspective, flat regions of uniform colour, uniform lighting, absence of chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
, and their emphasis on decorative patterns. One or more of these features can be found in numbers of Vincent's paintings from his Antwerp period onwards.
The Courtesan (after Eisen)
The May 1886 edition of Paris Illustré was devoted to Japan with text by Tadamasa HayashiTadamasa Hayashi
was a Japanese art dealer who introduced traditional Japanese art such as ukiyo-e to Europe.Tadamasa was born to a family of Physician the Nagasaki family...
who may have inspired van Gogh's utopian notion of the Japanese artist:
- "Just think of that; isn’t it almost a new religion that these Japanese teach us, who are so simple and live in nature as if they themselves were flowers?"
- "And we wouldn’t be able to study Japanese art, it seems to me, without becoming much happier and more cheerful, and it makes us return to nature, despite our education and our work in a world of convention."
The cover carried a reverse image of a colour woodblock by Keisai Eisen
Keisai Eisen
Keisai Eisen was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who specialised in bijinga . His best works, including his ōkubi-e , are considered to be masterpieces of the "decadent" Bunsei Era...
depicting a Japanese courtesan or Oiran
Oiran
were courtesans in Japan. The oiran were considered a type of "woman of pleasure" or prostitute. However, they are distinguished from the yūjo in that they were entertainers, and many became celebrities of their times outside the pleasure districts...
. Vincent traced this and enlarged it to produce his painting.
Copies of Hiroshige prints
Van Gogh made copies of two Hiroshige prints. He enhanced their colours and added borders filled with calligraphic characters he borrowed from other prints.Example ukiyo-e prints
- Eisen: The Feast of Seven Herbs, colour woodblock, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
- Eisen: (various) (1832), colour woodblock, Connecticut College, Connecticut
- Eisen: Edo... shibai-machi kaomise no zu, colour woodblock, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Hiroshige: Sudden Shower over Atake (1857), colour woodblock, Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Hiroshige: Plum Estate, Kameido (1857), colour woodblock, Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Hiroshige: Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine (1857), colour woodblock, Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Hiroshige: Ushimachi, Takanawa (1857), colour woodblock, Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Hiroshige: Fireworks at Ryōgoku (1857),colour woodblock, Brooklyn Museum, New York
In UK
- Hiroshige: Yui, Satta Peak, colour woodblock, British Museum, London
- Hiroshige: (various), colour woodblock, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
- Hokusai: Abe No Nakamaro, colour woodblock, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
- Hokusai (attrib.): The Shishi-Mai Dance, colour woodblock, Royal Academy of Arts, London
- Hokusai: Dragon ascending Mount Fuji, colour woodblock, British Museum, London
- Sharaku: The Actors Nakamura Wadaemon and Nakamura Konoz, colour woodblock, British Museum, London
- Utamaro: Girl at her Toilet with two female attendants and male admirer, colour woodblock, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham
- Utamaro: Women sewing, colour woodblock, British Museum, London
- Utamaro: Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (1788), colour woodblocks, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Illustrative Van Gogh works
- Houses seen from the Back (1885, Antwerp), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Courtesan (1887), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige), (1887), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige), (1887), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Sprig of Flowering Almond Blossom in a Glass (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Bedroom (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Rock of Montmajour with Trees (1888), pen and brush, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Langlois Bridge (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Harvest (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The Sower (1888), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Almond Blossom (1890), oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
In UK
- Vincent's Chair with Pipe (1888), oil on canvas, National Gallery, London
- Sunflowers (1888), oil on canvas, National Gallery, London