The Influence of Japanese Art on the Impressionists

During the Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic era, Japanese art and culture was highly influential on renowned painters such as Degas, Cassatt, Van Gogh, and others. The sleek simple lines in popular woodcut prints and exotic fashions were alluring and incorporated into many of the artists’ pieces. This style is called “Japonisme”. It is characterized by portrayals of everyday scenes, mostly women, done with exaggerated colors, asymmetrical compositions, and included traditional Japanese objects such as fans, kimonos, or patterns tucked into the details of the painting, all with an added touch of simplicity. Landscapes are also very common in Japanese art even Van Gogh did his own take on the Japanese landscape style. Often, impressionistic painters copied, almost exactly, the positions and content of Japanese art while adding their own styles. Long vertical canvases with elongated features and graphic line also characterized the style. Two of the leading Japanese artists of that time were Kitagawa Utamaro and Utagawa Kunisada, their woodcuts were highly admired and reproduced across the Western art world. The sudden rage of Japonsime was due to the fact that Japan reopened their trading ports in 1853. The impressionist celebrated the vibrant colors and simplicity of the woodcuts and prints that filled Paris and it’s shops.

Mary Cassatt, Woman Bathing (La Toilette), 1890-1891, Dry point and aquatint; 17 x 11 3/4in, 16.2.2

This piece is one of ten prints by Cassatt. It is a clear example of the influence of Japanese culture on the impressionistic period. Like many Japanese wood cut prints, the asymmetrical composition is prominent as well as large flat shapes and colors. The woman, with an elongated stylized figure leans over a sink to bathe, her undone dress resting on her hips. Congruent with the Impressionists, Cassatt’s piece depicts a woman doing an everyday action.

 Kitagawa Utamaro, Yamauba Combing Her Hair and Kintoki, 1801, Polychrome woodblock                                               print; ink and color on paper, 14 5/8 x 10 in, JP979

A mother combs her long silky black hair as her young child clings to her back, her breasts exposed, her dress rests on her hips. This piece is very similar to Cassatt’s Woman Bathing concerning composition, stylization, and content. Cassatt was inspired by Utamaro after going to the exhibition of 1890. She was a collector of his woodcuts and prints. This scene of mother and child is rather intimate which challenged the “constrained formality” of Western Art but, was undoubtedly accepted by the impression painters.

 Utagawa Hiroshige, Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake, 1857, Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 13 3/8 x 9 1/2 in, JP2522

Hiroshige was one of the most famous Japanese artists of his time, considered one of the great masters of woodcuts and prints.  Van Gogh was a great admirer of his work, he was fascinated by the colors and distinct depiction of landscapes that captured the beauty of everyday life. Typical of Japanese art, is the composition with a large empty space in the upper left hand of the frame. Ominous dark clouds lay under the top of piece with stripes of rain pelting the people walking on the Shin-Ōhashi Bridge.

 Vincent Van Gogh, Bridge in the Rain: After Hiroshige, 1887, oil on canvas, 73.3x 53.8 cm, Van

Gogh Museum

Van Gogh was an avid collector of Japanese wood prints, in many letters to his brother Theo, he praises the color and creativity of the art. He had hundreds of prints and copied many of the Japanese masters’ works. A notable influence was Utagawa Hiroshige. Van Gogh’s Bridge in Rain is after Hiroshige’s Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake. The two look almost exactly alike, however Van Gogh adds a touch of impressionism to the piece. He uses more saturated colors and paints with his famous blurred brushstrokes. To finish it off he adds a decorative red and green border. 

Edgar Degas, Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass, 1882-1885, Oil on canvas, 
                                                              15 3/8 x 35 1/4 in, 29.100.127

At first glance, this piece may seem void of Japanese influence, but studied closely and in context, hints of Hokusai’s handiwork shines through. The scene is of young ballet dancers in a studio, very similar to most of Degas’s pieces. A figure towards the right of the frame bends down in a very unusual pose to stretch, next to her lies a bass instrument. The large empty space to the left of the piece mirrors the asymmetry of many woodcuts. The unusual and almost unflattering pose of the young girl is extremely similar to Hokusai's Sparrow Dance from Manga. 

Alfred Stevens, In the Studio, 1888, oil on canvas, 42 x 53 1/2 in, 1986.339.2

Alfred Stevens is one of the lesser known Impressionist painters. He was an avid collector of Japanese objects such as fans, kimonos, and especially art. Often his pieces were painted in his lavish home in the rue des Martyrs in Paris. Tucked into the corners of the painting are exotic fan and parasols. The woman on the left sits in an ornate Japanese robe. Although this piece doesn’t use as many formal elements that are traditional of wood cuts, Japanese influence is still shown in the asymmetry and glamorous objects.