Japonisme in Western Painting from Whistler to Matisse

by Klaus Berger

Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh found inspiration in Japanese art. This is a study of Japonisme, the inspiration of Japanese subject-matter and of Japanese design on Western art. The book also deals with the methods by which the Japanese influence was transmitted.

415 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berger’s scrupulous scholarship, attention to detail, and careful analyses combine to make this the fullest and most rewarding study of Japonisme available. The work demonstrates that the European and American turn to Japanese models in the years following 1850 ‘was not a passive process of reception but the active operation of a triggering factor’, which led first to ‘the imitation of individual motifs’ and then to ‘stylistic assimilation’ and finally to ‘creative transformation’ in the work of many of the most important European and American painters of the time. ‘The response to the Japanese vision modified the relationship between content and form in Western art’, Berger writes in an Afterword (in Britt’s translation). ‘Wherever the dead hand of academicism or naturalistic platitude threatened to paralyse the imagination, a Japanese inspiration intervened’, and this led ultimately to ‘the unfolding of new modes of formal creation’. The work is richly illustrated, and includes in the first of two appendices a detailed chronology of important events in the historical development of the subject.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be the first to admit that I am a complete amateur/newbie when it comes to art history and art critique. My only learning was one art history class in college that went by way too fast and self-education through reading.

I enjoyed this book for the fact that it frequently showed the comparison pictures side by side when claiming influence and similarities. This helped me to see what the author was referring to.

But let us suppose for a minute, contrary to what artists of the time reported and the entire premise of this book, that there was no influence; no Japonisme? Who influenced the Japanese artists to paint and create as they did? What if the style was the next in the evolutionary line in art? What if society in Europe was finally ready for a more "Eastern" take on art? What if the exhibitions of Japanese art finally made it acceptable for the artist to utilize their skills that appeared to be Japonisme because they could finally make money and the public would accept it as art? I think that this is a big piece of any art movement. In the book, it discusses poster art and interior design as slowly becoming recognized as legitimate art forms. Why has it been over 100 years and Manga and Anime are still being questioned as a "legitimate" art form? Lots of questions from the "newbie".

The Apendix writing by Bahr and Murther did help enlighten this reader a little.

Overall, an enjoyable book with a ton of information from a clearly well educated and well researched author on the topic