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'''''Japonaiserie ({{en|Japanesery}})''''' was the term the Dutch [[post-impressionist]] painter [[Vincent van Gogh]] used to express the [[Japonisme | influence of Japanese art]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/search/advanced?originaltext=original&term=Japonaiserie&person_terms=&person_code=&literature_terms=&literature_code=&workofart_terms=&workofart_code=&bibleref_terms=&bibleref_code=&f_number=&jh_number=&periodical=&from=1&id_range=&id_type=jlb_id&date_from=1872-09-29&date_until=1890-07-31&period=&correspondent_name=&correspondent_id=&place_name=&place_id=&order=date&search2.x=13&search2.y=8&search2=Search |title=Search result |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>
'''''Japonaiserie ({{en|Japanesery}})''''' was the term the Dutch [[post-impressionist]] painter [[Vincent van Gogh]] used to express the [[Japonisme|influence of Japanese art]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/search/advanced?originaltext=original&term=Japonaiserie&person_terms=&person_code=&literature_terms=&literature_code=&workofart_terms=&workofart_code=&bibleref_terms=&bibleref_code=&f_number=&jh_number=&periodical=&from=1&id_range=&id_type=jlb_id&date_from=1872-09-29&date_until=1890-07-31&period=&correspondent_name=&correspondent_id=&place_name=&place_id=&order=date&search2.x=13&search2.y=8&search2=Search |title=Search result |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>


Before 1854 trade with Japan was [[Dutch Golden Age #Monopoly on trade with Asians | confined to a Dutch monopoly]] and [[Dejima #Trade | 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 [[Sakoku | Seclusion]] and opened up trade between Japan and the West.
Before 1854 trade with Japan was [[Dutch Golden Age#Monopoly on trade with Asians|confined to a Dutch monopoly]] and [[Dejima#Trade|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 [[Sakoku|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 [[ Woodblock printing in Japan | colour wood-block prints]] called [[ukiyo-e | ''ukiyo-e'' prints]]. For a while Vincent and his brother [[Theo van Gogh (art dealer)| Theo]] dealt in these prints and they eventually amassed hundreds of them (now housed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?page=206701&lang=en |title=Japanese prints: Catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum’s collection |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>
Artists such as [[Manet]], [[Degas]] and [[Monet]], followed by Van Gogh, began to collect the cheap [[Woodblock printing in Japan|colour wood-block prints]] called [[ukiyo-e|''ukiyo-e'' prints]]. For a while Vincent and his brother [[Theo van Gogh (art dealer)|Theo]] dealt in these prints and they eventually amassed hundreds of them (now housed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?page=206701&lang=en |title=Japanese prints: Catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum’s collection |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>


In a letter to Theo dated about 5 June 1888 Vincent remarks
In a letter to Theo dated about 5 June 1888 Vincent remarks
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==Influence of Japanese art on Van Gogh==
==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 [[Eugène Delacroix| Delacroix]]'s theory of colour and where he used them to decorate his studio.
Van Gogh's interest in Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' prints dates from his time in Arnhem when he was also interesting himself in [[Eugène Delacroix|Delacroix]]'s theory of colour and where he used them to decorate his studio.


:One of [[Jules de Goncourt | De Goncourt’s]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let545/letter.html |title=Letter 545 |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>
:One of [[Jules de Goncourt|De Goncourt’s]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let545/letter.html |title=Letter 545 |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>


During his subsequent stay in Paris, where [[Japonism | ''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]].
During his subsequent stay in Paris, where [[Japonism|''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 (Arles) | Yellow House]] at [[Arles]] and his attempt to form a utopian [[art colony]] there with [[Paul Gauguin]].
Van Gogh developed an idealised conception of the Japanese artist which led him to the [[Yellow House (Arles)|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
His enthusiasm for Japanese art had however waned by July 1888 in favour of Impressionism
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:So Japanese art, properly speaking, already with its place in collections, already impossible to find in Japan itself, is becoming of secondary interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let642/letter.html |title=Letter 642 |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>
:So Japanese art, properly speaking, already with its place in collections, already impossible to find in Japan itself, is becoming of secondary interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let642/letter.html |title=Letter 642 |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>


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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vangoghletters.org/vg/search/advanced?originaltext=original&translation=translation&annotations=notes&essays=essays&from=1&to=1&date_from=1872-09-29&date_until=1890-07-31&order=date&person_code=290|title=Search result |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>
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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vangoghletters.org/vg/search/advanced?originaltext=original&translation=translation&annotations=notes&essays=essays&from=1&to=1&date_from=1872-09-29&date_until=1890-07-31&order=date&person_code=290|title=Search result |work=Vincent van Gogh. The Letters |publisher=[[Van Gogh Museum]] |location=Amsterdam}}</ref>


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.
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.
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[[File:Van Gogh tracing for The Courtesan .jpeg|thumb|150px|left|Vincent's tracing of the courtesan figure|alt= an old looking squared up tracing of a Japanese woman]]
[[File:Van Gogh tracing for The Courtesan .jpeg|thumb|150px|left|Vincent's tracing of the courtesan figure|alt= an old looking squared up tracing of a Japanese woman]]


[[File:Title_page_Paris_Illustre_Le_Japon_vol_4_May_1886.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of Paris Illustré "Le Japon' vol. 4, May 1886, no. 45-46|alt= the front of an old French magazine showing a courtesan or oiran or 'geisha girl' in a colourful kimono her hair fantasically done up with cherry or almond blossom to the left]]
[[File:Title page Paris Illustre Le Japon vol 4 May 1886.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of Paris Illustré "Le Japon' vol. 4, May 1886, no. 45-46|alt= the front of an old French magazine showing a courtesan or oiran or 'geisha girl' in a colourful kimono her hair fantasically done up with cherry or almond blossom to the left]]


The May 1886 edition of ''Paris Illustré'' was devoted to Japan with text by [[Tadamasa Hayashi]] who may have inspired van Gogh's utopian notion of the Japanese artist:
The May 1886 edition of ''Paris Illustré'' was devoted to Japan with text by [[Tadamasa Hayashi]] who may have inspired van Gogh's utopian notion of the Japanese artist:
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==Copies of Hiroshige prints==
==Copies of Hiroshige prints==



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*Hiroshige: Ushimachi, Takanawa (1857), colour woodblock, [http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/online/edo/detail.php?view=9013.81.14 Brooklyn Museum, New York]
*Hiroshige: Ushimachi, Takanawa (1857), colour woodblock, [http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/online/edo/detail.php?view=9013.81.14 Brooklyn Museum, New York]
*Hiroshige: Fireworks at Ryōgoku (1857),colour woodblock, [http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/online/edo/detail.php?view=9016.98.7 Brooklyn Museum, New York]
*Hiroshige: Fireworks at Ryōgoku (1857),colour woodblock, [http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/online/edo/detail.php?view=9016.98.7 Brooklyn Museum, New York]

=== In UK ===
=== In UK ===
*Hiroshige: Yui, Satta Peak, colour woodblock, [http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/u/utagawa_hiroshige,_yui_satta.aspx British Museum, London]
*Hiroshige: Yui, Satta Peak, colour woodblock, [http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/u/utagawa_hiroshige,_yui_satta.aspx British Museum, London]
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[[Category:Vincent van Gogh paintings of Paris]]
[[Category:Vincent van Gogh paintings of Paris]]
[[Category:Series of Vincent van Gogh paintings]]
[[Category:Series of Vincent van Gogh paintings]]

[[Category:1887 paintings]]
[[Category:1887 paintings]]

Revision as of 19:45, 9 September 2013

The Courtesan (after Eisen)
An Oiran courtesan dressed in a colourful kimono placed against a bright yellow background framed by a border of bamboo canes, water lilies, frogs, cranes and a boat
ArtistVincent van Gogh
Year1887 (1887)
TypeOil on canvas
Dimensions105.5 cm × 60.5 cm (41½ in × 23¾ in)
LocationVan Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Japonaiserie (Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.) was the term the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh used to express the influence of Japanese art.[1]

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).[2]

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.[3]

A month later he wrote,

All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art...[4]

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 Delacroix's theory of colour and where he used them to decorate his studio.

One of De Goncourt’s 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.[5]

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

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.

The Courtesan (after Eisen)

an old looking squared up tracing of a Japanese woman
Vincent's tracing of the courtesan figure
the front of an old French magazine showing a courtesan or oiran or 'geisha girl' in a colourful kimono her hair fantasically done up with cherry or almond blossom to the left
Title page of Paris Illustré "Le Japon' vol. 4, May 1886, no. 45-46

The May 1886 edition of Paris Illustré was devoted to Japan with text by Tadamasa Hayashi 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." [8]

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.

Copies of Hiroshige prints

Portrait of a tree with blossoms and with far eastern alphabet letters both in the portrait and along the left and right
Flowering Plumtree (after Hiroshige) (1887), Van Gogh Museum
Portrait of a tree with blossoms and with far eastern alphabet letters both in the portrait and along the left and right
The Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) (1887), Van Gogh Museum
Hiroshige originals side by side with Vincent's copies

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

In UK

Illustrative Van Gogh works

In UK

See also

References

  1. ^ "Search result". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  2. ^ "Japanese prints: Catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum's collection". Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  3. ^ "Letter 620". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  4. ^ "Letter 640". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  5. ^ "Letter 545". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  6. ^ "Letter 642". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  7. ^ "Search result". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  8. ^ "Letter 686 note 21". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
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