Japonisme: How Japan influenced the great impressionist artists

Impressionist painters like Monet and Van Gogh found a new aesthetic in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. This Japanese influence sparked an art movement called "Japonisme" that sought to integrate Japanese aesthetic principles into western art.

The influence of Japanese master artists like Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro can be felt through the artwork of Edgar Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, and Paul Cézanne. Beyond painting, Japonisme's influence extended into literature with writers such as Charles Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde.

Most famously, Claude Monet was a collector of ukiyo-e prints and befriended two Japanese art dealers living in France: Tadamasa Hayashi and Kojiro Matsutaka. They played a key role in explaining the principles behind Japanese art and in translating the descriptions. They visited Monet at Giverny and saw his sprawling gardens and pond with a Japanese style bridge. These two art dealers became fans of impressionism and were instrumental in introducing Monet and other artists to Japan.

While Japonisme's origins lie in imitation and apropriation of Japan's exotic style, its legacy is a new style that combines the best of East and West.

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Images - Mixkit