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Andrew Shortreed EC1313463 Japanese Influences On Impressionist Art In Europe Became Increasingly Popular After 1854 Andrew Shortreed Investigating Europe 8 th December 2014

Japanese Influences on Impressionist Art in Europe Became Inreasingly Popular After 1854

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The treaties of the 1850’s enforced by America, and later Europe on Japan, resulted in trade becoming possible again after centuries. After the introduction of Japanese woodblock prints into stores and galleries around Europe, they spread quickly and soon artists here began closely studying the techniques which the Japanese artists used. It wasn't long before it began to influence the impressionists who in turn, influenced many others and the art form of the poster, which was just beginning at this time was also directly influenced by the Japanese. In the end, without the treaties it is likely that the experimentation and development of art in the late nineteenth century would have looked very different. They were important not just for the arts, but for our appreciation of Japan in general.

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  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463

    Japanese Influences On

    Impressionist Art In Europe

    Became Increasingly

    Popular After 1854

    Andrew Shortreed

    Investigating Europe

    8th December 2014

  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463

  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463

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    Abstract

    The treaties of the 1850s enforced by America on Japan and later Europe, resulted intrade becoming possible again after centuries. After the introduction of Japanesewoodblock prints into stores and galleries around Europe, they spread quickly and soonartists here began closely studying the techniques which the Japanese artists used. Itwasn't long before it began to influence the impressionists who in turn, influenced manyothers and the art form of the poster, which was just beginning at this time was alsodirectly influenced by the Japanese. In the end, the without the treaties it is likely that theexperimentation and development of art in the late nineteenth century would havelooked very different. They were important not just for the arts, but for our appreciation ofJapan in general.

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  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463

    Table Of Contents

    1. Abstract 1

    2. Introduction 5

    3. Discovery Of The Floating World 6

    4. Japnonisme And Van Gogh 7

    5. Impact On Other Artists 8

    6. Final Words 9

    7. List Of References 10

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    1. Introduction

    In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States first sailed to Tokyo Bay, Japanwith his fleet to establish a trade agreement between Japan and the U.S. which wouldbecome known as the Treaty Of Kanagawa. This was primarily to set up colonies therefor trading and also because the U.S. Demanded that Japan open up to the rest of theworld. The visit in 1853 was unsuccessful in setting up such an agreement and aftergiving Japan some time to think it over, Perry returned again in 1854 and this time it wasa success and the United States became the first western country to restore relationswith Japan for over two centuries.1

    Japan had kept themselves concealed from foreigners because they believedthemselves to be a secluded country and were still unsure about the idea of regainingrelations with western powers however, on the other hand their interest in the West andtheir determination to become a modernised country was primarily the reason that theyopened up.2 It was not until 1858, after the signing of another series of treaties, theAnsei Treaties between the United States, Great Britain, Russia, France and TheNetherlands that Japanese imports of all types from silks and kimonos to arts and craftsstarted to come into Europe.3

    The style of art known as Impressionism was gaining in popularity around this time and itis important to understand what this was about to see why those artists were easilyinfluenced by the Japanese art later on. The impressionists were rebellious and wantedto paint something different from the normal style of the time, which was highly classical.The impressionists wanted to replicate the world as it was and create lifelike images.This lead to much experimentation, probably none more so than Vincent Van Gogh. Hewas famous for his use of bold brush strokes and bright , solid colours. Because of thenature of their subjects, natural light, they had to try to work fast and this is one of thereasons that they opted for fewer brush strokes and also why the style was given theterm Impressionism.7 With the arrival of Japanese woodblock prints, this offered evenmore opportunity to experiment and the simplicity of the techniques which the Japaneseartists employed were admired by many.

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    2. Discovery Of The Floating World

    Despite such seclusion some things had inevitably found their way overseas throughoutthe centuries and the imports of Japan had been a fascination throughout its long historyto the west.2 In the late 1860s, the Japanese Meiji emperor wanted Japan to become aheavily industrialised and modernised country so encouraged the growth of travelling tolearn from the west in order to strengthen their own empire. At the same time manywesterners wanted to visit Japan before it had completely lost its old way of life.2 Thiswas what attracted so many people to their artwork as it allowed a glimpse into a rarelyseen and changing society.

    The first experience of Japanese Art for many foreigners was at large scale expositionswhich were held all across Europe. The first of these expos which Japan was officially apart was at the world expo in Paris of 1867. After this, many stores around Paris startedto sell Japanese goods, including prints, fans and Kimonos to the general public. For thefirst time ordinary people had access to such things and it quickly gained in popularity,now, many also began to collect the woodblock prints known as Ukiyo-e.2 The wordUkiyo translates in English to the floating world and has different meanings dependingon the time, generally representing ordinary daily life. After a long period of civil warsending in the late sixteenth century, Japan was restored to peace and people began torelax and have fun again.6 This was the same time that Ukiyo-e started to gain inpopularity and the scenes depicted in the images portray a hedonistic society which isperfectly summed up by Asai Ryoi in his book Tales of the floating world where hedescribes the lifestyle as one of indulgence in the fine things of life and living free fromworry about the outside world.2

    Even though it is clear that there was already prints around in Europe before thenineteenth century and people were aware of the artwork of Japan to some degree, itcannot be argued that the the treaties made them available to a much wider audiencecontributing largely to the discovery by the artists of the day. The interest in Japaneseprints and its influences on western art may not have become a reality without the earlypioneers of trading to have pushed for Japan to open up to the rest of the world. Thisundoubtedly would have had an effect on many of the impressionist artists which we willlook at in the next sections.

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    3. Japonisme And Van Gogh

    Van Gogh was one of those artists with an interest in Japanese art and its influences canbe seen in many of his later works. While living with his brother in Paris, Van Goghdiscovered Japanese Ukiyo-e prints in the gallery next to their apartment and began tocollect them. He and his brother collected hundreds of these prints and he would studythe effects and techniques of the Japanese style, he was drawn in particular to the useof bold outlines, bright colours, and new and interesting perspectives such as thesometimes heavy use of cropping and adding of a border around the painting.5

    In a visit to the Van Gogh Museum I discovered for myself just how much an impact thishad on his work, which can be seen by the fact that there is an entire section of themuseum dedicated to his interests in Japan. Van Gogh wrote about the effect ofJapanese art in a letter which he wrote to his sister in 1888. You will be able to get anidea of the revolution of painting when you think, for instance, of the brightly colouredJapanese pictures that one sees everywhere, landscapes and figures. 4 This suggeststhat it was a widespread phenomena and was happening all throughout the paintingworld and tells of the attraction that appealed to them such as the use of bright coloursand bold lines used in the Japanese prints. Van Gogh painted several copies of worksdone by Japanese artists. Firstly, his rendition of Bridge In The Rain by UtagawaHiroshige. Although a copy, Van Goghs version has its own unique style, he usesbrighter colours than the original, rougher brush strokes and includes the border withJapanese characters, which he copied from other woodblock prints.2 Another importantwork The Courtesan, based on a print by Kesai Eisen shows his skill and depth of studyof the woodblock print. He captures the original essence and shape of the beauty whileusing bright colours for the kimono and setting against a strong yellow background.

    Visiting Japan was something that Van Gogh had always dreamed of since firstdiscovering Japanese prints. As a source, Van Goghs letters are just as important as hisartwork and tell us every detail about his love affair with Japan. In a letter to Gauguin,another impressionist, to whom he often wrote about this studies, he recalled the journeyhe took from Paris to Arles, saying I always remember the emotions which the trip fromParis to Arles evoked. How I kept watching to see if I had already reached Japan!childish, isn't it?8 In another letter to his brother, Theo, he describes the Japanese artistas Aman who is undoubtedly wise and explains that by studying Japanese art, one cangain many benefits.9The point he tries to make is that the Japanese pay just as muchattention to the most simple things around us and their ability to express the life insomething as simple as A single blade of grass is what makes it special.

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    4. Influence On Other Artists

    Besides Van Gogh, many other artists were also heavily influenced by Japanese art. Ofthese, some of the most notable are Edgar Davis, Calude Monet and Paul Gauguin,some more heavily influenced than others. As a painter Edgar Degas preferred to paintpeople as his subjects. He was trained in painting the standard academic way of the time,which focused on conveying the image of the body as a pure form, especially women,which was seen as the female form divine. 2 The Japanese woodblock prints which hediscovered, went against everything that he had been previously taught. He studied theway the Japanese painters expressed normal daily life. Some of his most commonthemes such as women bathing, working in steam-rooms or saunas and ballerinas canbe traced back to these studies. As a result of Edgar Daviss work, many others werealso influenced by him and Japanese themes could be seen in the works of many otherindependent and aspiring painters.

    Gauguin was a lover of Japanese prints and he filled his home with as many as he couldfind. Looking at some of his work it is easy to tell these influences. He received criticismfor his work Jacob Wrestling With An Angel by impressionist Camille Pissarro.According to him, Gauguin swiped these ideas from the Japanese.2 This is clearlyevident when looking at this piece however, similar criticisms could be argued aboutmany other pieces by other artists too. Whether or not they stole their ideas from theJapanese is not important, what matters most is that it allowed them a new way ofviewing art and offered new perspectives from the traditional art of the time, changeswhich were welcomed throughout. Japanese art was so influential during this period thatit not only affected painters but also many of the wider industries of the arts. Anotherlater influence of Japanese art can be found in French posters.

    The poster, as an art form was just beginning around the 1870s with the introduction ofnew techniques known as Lithography. This can be directly linked to the study ofJapanese prints as even from the very earliest posters its influences can be seen,starting with the early Jules Cheret, who is considered the forerunner of earlyposter-making. His pupil Henri De Toulousse Lautrec, has been called the Great Masterof the lithographic art form and he took his original inspiration from a poster by PierreBonnard for an advert for France-Champagne. The poster featured bold black linesagainst a bright yellow background, distinctly Japanese, a theme also found in many ofGauguins works. Lautrec himself designed some of the most notable posters of the timein Paris such as his design La Goulue for the Moulin Rouge. Lautrecs use ofsilhouettes in this poster is inspired by a work of Keisai Eisen of a courtesan sitting, withher escorts visible as black silhouettes in the background. Even the image of thecourtesan herself was imitated with the man in the foreground of the poster. 2

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    The effects of Japanese art on European art has been well studied but less common isthe knowledge that Japanese artists were too influenced by the impressionists. Thishowever, is beyond the scope of this investigation but is worth noting.

    5. Final Words

    The era of Impressionism was a daring pursuit to challenge what was considered thenorm of the time and ultimately succeeded in changing our outlook of art today. It brokefree of the classical form and allowed artists, not only painters, to express themselvesfreely and pioneer new techniques. The introduction of the Japanese woodblock prints,Ukiyo-e, brought about the appreciation of the use of simple, bright colours, bold outlinesas well as allowed artists to paint with new perspectives completely different fromwestern art. Knowledge of the art of Japan became commonplace and anybody couldown a collection of these prints thanks to the availability of Japanese goods in localstores. It influenced countless people and opened up a new appreciation of a uniqueculture previously hidden from view from the rest of world. This was in no small partthanks to the efforts of the west and the trade treaties set up in the middle of thenineteenth century. The first attempts to make this work were slow and it took therepeated efforts of both sides to come to any agreements however, ultimately provedthat negotiations between two very different cultures can be achieved.

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    6. List Of References

    1 The History Channel - The Treaty Of Kanagawa,

    2 Lambourne, L. (2005) Japonisme - Cultural Crossings Between Japan And TheWest, London, Phaidon

    3 Auslin, R M. (2009) Negotiating with Imperialism,

    4 Gogh V V. Letter to Wilhelmina van Gogh, Written 30 March 1888 in Arles, France

    5 Japonisme, The Van Gogh Gallery

    6 Hirano C. The Training Of Ukiyo-E Artists And Printers And The Technique OfMaking Prints

    7 Keller H. (1980) The Art Of The Impressionists, Oxford, Phaidon

  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463

  • Andrew Shortreed EC1313463