Franz Klineįurthermore, Franz Kline in particular had an interest in the avant-garde calligraphy group Bokujinkai, based in Kyoto. Although sometimes disputed, it is generally thought that the sweeping brush strokes in the works of Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock were influenced by Japanese (and Chinese) calligraphy. The Jungian theory of a collective unconscious was often referenced by Abstract Expressionists, as it is what they intended to express in the freedom of their works. The two countries were of major mutual influence in the postwar years, suggesting an infiltration of Japanese culture into the collective unconscious at the time. Artists of the American movement of Abstract Expressionism throughout the 1940s and 50s, were also said to have looked East for inspiration. However, the centres of interest evolved, as did the centre of Western artistic influence moving from Paris to New York. The influence of Japanese art on Western artists did not stop at the turn of the century. Whether in subject matter or style, one thing is clear, the Impressionists couldn’t get enough of Japanese art! Art Nouveau and New Inspirations His love for nature and the landscapes depicted in ukiyo-e prints even led him to move to Arles in the south of France in search of inspiration to more authentically recreate the Japanese style of painting he had come to admire. Although he was slightly later on the uptake than the Parisian artists of the time, Japanese art made a lasting impression on him. Of course, it is impossible to talk about the influence of Japanese art on Western artists without mentioning the work of Vincent Van Gogh. Yet the perspective of the viewer being positioned slightly above the subject is a distinctly Japanese trait, his appropriation of which can be attributed to his extensive knowledge of the work of Japanese artists. Both pieces feature nude women performing domestic activities, in keeping with Degas’ already-established style. Similarly, Edgar Degas’, Woman Combing Her Hair is said to be directly inspired by Utagawa Hiroshige’s, Yamauba Combing Her Hair and Kintoki. The print is reminiscent of Kitagawa Utamaro’s Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure, despite the latter being created a hundred years previously, thus emphasising the timelessness of the genre. This is particularly evident in her print The Coiffure, which depicts a woman in the everyday activity of brushing her hair. Cassatt reinvented her signature subject matter of women and children in the style of Japanese prints, using flat colours and only indicating dimensionality through the use of line rather than tone. Meanwhile, many artists made more subtle references to ukiyo-e prints, for example Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, notably in style rather than subject matter. The Coiffure, Mary Cassatt, 1890-91 and Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure, Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. Notably, the subject matter of Monet’s Japanese Bridge paintings can be directly compared to the landscapes of the ukiyo-e prints, especially Hokusai’s, Under Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa, thus introducing a distinctly Japanese feel to the traditionally French movement of Impressionism. However, some took inspiration more literally than others. Impressionist artists such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and James Tissot all accumulated large collections of Japanese art. If not at the time, certainly in retrospect we recognise this practice as appropriation of the culture rather than a celebration of it, which we do not wish to glamorise. Indeed it is important to note that, some of the work produced by these artists is deemed Orientalism rather than simple inspiration, as they would dress in traditional clothing and imitate Japanese people. Some of the most famous ukiyo-e artists were Katsushika Hokusai, Kitagawa Utamaro and Utagawa Hiroshige, whose flattened perspectives, bright colours and defined outlines provided no end of inspiration to Western artists. The prints depicted Kabuki theatre actors, landscapes, erotic scenes and many other aspects of Japanese culture. One such introduction was that of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, literally meaning ‘pictures of the floating world’, referring to the pleasure districts of Edo (now Tokyo). Japonisme was first used as a term by French collector and art critic Philippe Burty in 1872, as the influence of Japan on Western artists became more widespread. The phenomenon came to be known as Japonisme as there was a sudden rise in interest in Japanese art after Japan re-commenced trade with the West in 1853, thus introducing their goods and culture to Europe. The influence of Japanese art on Western artists established itself at the end of the 19th century during the Impressionist movement. The Water Lily Pond, Claude Monet, 1899 and Under Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa, Katsushika Hokusai, ca.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |