Three Japanese Exhibitions at the Van Gogh Museum

Monday, 04 September 2006 10:00

Amsterdam - The theme this summer at the Van Gogh Museum is Japan.  Until to 22 October the exhibition wing will house no less than three shows featuring various aspects of 19^th-century Japanese art.

Wonders of Imperial Japan: Meiji art from the Khalili collection will present a selection of over 200 major items from the famous Khalili collection, the world’s largest and most comprehensive private collection of Japanese Meiji art, complemented by paintings by Van Gogh.  The works date from the period of the ‘enlightened rule’ of the Japanese emperor Meiji (1868-1912) and this is the first such extensive exhibition of Japanese Meiji art from this collection to appear in Europe.

Japanese art experienced a remarkable period of development during the Meiji period.  The social changes which had affected Japan since it opened its doors to the West in 1854 had led to the decline of the traditional market; at the same time, an export market had emerged for Japan.  Meiji art is founded on traditional forms, decorations and techniques, and perfection and refinement are central to the production of objects of this period.  A remarkable synthesis of convention and innovation led to a revival of porcelain and cloisonné enamel produc­tion.  Remarkable strides were also made in lacquer and metal work.  At the international expositions in Europe and America, Japan astonished the West with its vases, lacquer boxes, panels and even entire cupboards, exam­ples of which are displayed in the exhibi­tion.

Vincent van Gogh was a great admirer of Japanese art and began his collection of prints from Japan, now preserved in the Van Gogh Museum, while in Paris.  ‘You cannot study Japanese art, it seems to me, without becoming much gayer and happier’, wrote Van Gogh.  In his letters to his brother Theo he discusses his appreciation of Japanese art on several occasions.  Writing from Arles on 24 September 1888, he said: ‘Come now, isn’t it almost a true religion which these simple Japanese teach us, who live in nature as though they themselves were flowers?’

The exhibition shows how Van Gogh used typically Japanese themes - blossom, flowers (in particular irises) and birds - in his paintings, alongside various copies the artist made in his own style of Japanese woodcuts after Hiroshige: Flowering plum tree and The bridge in the rain, both dating from 1887.

The Khalili collection was assembled by Professor Nasser D. Khalili.  Born in Iran in 1945, the scholar, patron and businessman has assembled several impressive art collections in the last forty years, from Islamic art and Spanish metalwork to Swedish and Indian textiles.  His collection of Meiji art comprises some 2,000 items.  The entire Khalili collections comprise more than 25,000 objects.

Women from Tokyo & Paris
After Japan opened up in 1854, Europe became acquainted with Japanese art on a major scale.  Japanese prints aroused particular interest at the Paris Expositions of 1867, 1878 and 1889.  Women from Tokyo & Paris reveals the influence of 19^th-century Japanese prints and paintings by leading artists such as Eizan, Eisen and Kunisada, on paintings and especially lithographs by the French art movement known as Les Nabis and their circle.  The show traces a woman’s day from early morning to late in the evening: dressing and putting on her make-up, her various daytime activities, and the bustle of nightlife.  Besides paintings and prints, the exhibition also features objects such as kimonos, robes, toiletries and musical instruments, showing how women lived their everyday life.  The collection features over 100 works.

Wonders of Imperial Japan and Women from Tokyo & Paris are both compiled by guest curators Kris Schiermeier and Matthi Forrer.

A Tokaido Make-over
In A Tokaido Make-over, photographer Guus Rijven provides a contemporary vision of the 53 stages of ‘the 53 stations of the Tokaido’.  This great coastal highway, a 500 km route linking the former imperial capital of Kyoto with the more worldly Tokyo, was the principal road in feudal Japan.  The 53 post stations (55 including the start and finish) provided shelter and food for travelers, feudal lords and their retinues, as well as merchants and pilgrims.

Many artists made woodcuts on the theme of the Tokaido.  By far the most famous is the series by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). Rijven’s photos are shown alongside a complete set of Hiroshige’s Tokaido series from the Van Gogh Museum collection.

Visit the Van Gogh Museum at : www.vangoghmuseum.nl/