Japonisme and the Impressionists

As Japan finally opened trade with Europe in the late 19th century, many European artists were fascinated and inspired by the Japanese art and skill referred by the French as "Japonisme." It would set the stage for not only inspiring the Impressionists, but also set for the future of Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

 

The Impressionists were particularly interested in the flat dimensions, bold colors and stylized dramatic subjects of Japonisme. From imported wrapping paper Monet saw in a spice shop to Japanese silks inspiring Van Gogh, many felt that a door opened to combining their style with that of another culture.

 

 

 Each artist combined their talent with the Japanese influence of everyday matters and objects. It might be a bridge or a woman washing her hair. Through the Japanese woodblock prints and paintings, it might be the perspective where the artist's view was above the scene they were painting. Some artists took inspiration from the flat composition without shading for perspective sometime involving a mix of textile designs. 

 

 The list of Impressionist whose works were inspired by Japonisme includes such luminaries as: Cassatt, Whistler, Degas and the aforementioned Van Gogh and Monet. (How many can you identify?)

 

 

 

 

It changed the rules and lead to one of the most fertile creative periods for Europe into the 20th Century.

The Impressionist's Hero: M. Durand-Ruel

Last week the blog was about Theo Van Gogh, who did everything he could to promote and sell the art of Vincent as well as the other Impressionists. As I mentioned then, the art world purchased art and gave commissions to artists whose work reflected the stringency of the Academie de Beaux-Artes. By 1860, certain artists began to rebel against the rigidity of being told what and how they were to paint.

These artist started their own exhibitions in the Salon de Refuse. Their exhibits in Paris were considered outrageous and even scandalous. The art was ridiculed and, for the most part, no one was interested in buying the art. Against that background, these artists found support in many ways from Paul Durand-Ruel (1831-1922).

Paul's father had been art dealer and in 1865, Paul took over the business. He believed deeply in the Impressionists. He supported the artist by buying the art outright*, gave stipends to the artists, and held solo exhibitions. Eventually, some artwork sold, but not in any serious way in France.

However, during 1886 and 1887, he launched exhibits in the United States and experienced great success. He so appreciated the open-mindedness of the Americans for impressionism that he was quoted as saying, "The American public does not laugh. It buys!"

From 1870 until his death, Paul became the best known art dealer for French Impressionism in the world. Most of the Impressionists struggled financially. Imagine how much worse it would have been without M. Durand-Ruel's support!
*Between 1891 and 1922, Paul Durand-Ruel purchased close to 12,000
pictures, including more than 1,000 Monets, approximately 1,500 Renoirs, more than 400 each by Degas and Sisleys, about 800 Pissarros, close to 200 Manets and appx. 400 Mary Cassatts. "...My craziness has become wisdom. To say that if I had died at sixty years old, I would have died crippled in debt, insolvent amongst undiscovered treasures…”

The Compulsion to Make Art

It's so interesting how the muse of art continues to whisper into the ear of the artist no matter what infirmity the artist may experience. I can think of so many artists in history who found a way to continue even after they have experienced physical or mental handicaps.

Beethoven continued to compose music even after he was deaf. Van Gogh painted up to the last day before his deteriorating mental state led to his suicide. Quite a few well-known artists of the 19th century would continue to make art even as their ability to see became impaired.

Both Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) and Claude Monet (1840-1926) kept painting in spite of the cataracts each had developed. In Cassatt's case, she went from painting very detailed oils to looser pastels because pastels gave her more latitude and required less detail. Beginning in his thirties, Edgar Degas' (1834-1917) faced diminishing vision. At first, he did what Cassatt did and made the switch to pastels. However, his vision problems continued to worsen.

Degas vision reached the point that he could no longer read, discern colors or see anything with his right eye. He needed to make art and so he began to sculpt. He would eventually make 150 sculptures. The one of the 14-year old ballerina being his most famous.

While the records show that these artists experienced all the emotions of anyone grieving loss, they continued to make art. Why do you think that is? Is there a compelling need to make art? If so, is it as strong in other professions or trades?