 |
        |
|
|
|
|
Table of Contents
Introduction l Site Selection & Evaluation l Overview & History l Indexes to Various Articles
Features on Individual Artists l Bibliographies, Study Guides, Course Syllabi l Gallery l Others
Japonism (also known as Japonisme or Japonaiserie), is the term coined by the French art critic Philippe Burty in 1872, and is used to indicate the artistic movement influenced by Japanese style of art.
In the mid-19th century, Japan reopened its door for trade with Western countries after more than 200 years of national isolationism. When the artists in Europe were exposed to the decorative art from Japan for the first time in the 1867 World Exhibition in Paris, they were fascinated by the unique artistic insight and imagination in them, especially in woodblock prints called Ukiyo-e. The asymmetrical design, strong lines and simple flat colors of Japanese wood block prints inspired many innovative artists, and put a profound impact on the advent and development of the new styles of art, including Impressionism and Art Nouveau in France, and Jugendstil in Austria.
Scope & Audience
The purpose of this Webliography is to introduce websites and pages that provide useful information on the artistic trend of Japonism to all the people who are interested in it. Information covered ranges from the history of this movement to the images of the representative works that show how they were influenced by Japanese art. There are some sources that look at the Japanese art itself as Japonism, but it is not the intention of this Webliography to collect sites about Japanese art products. Selected websites include some non-English sites, for which links to the translations by the Google Language Tool are provided for users' convenience.
Site Rating
The websites and pages were evaluated based on the following criteria:
(These criteria are based on the Web Contents Evaluation Criteria of LIS 601 Handouts for Lectures)
The websites are rated with 
: (average), (good), (very good), (excellent).
General
Artistic Influences from Asia
http://www.loggia.com/art/articles/asianart.html
From the category of Articles about the History of Art and Design on Loggia.com, a comprehensive site on Art. Provides basic information about who were inspired by the Japanese art, and in what works they used the techniques of Japanese prints. A few links embedded in the text lead to information on individual artists and works. As limited to the brief outline, appropriate for those who want to take a quick look at the history of the Japonism movement. Not very good navigation system, and a little hard to locate the Article category.
Bridging the Ocean: Waves from Japan, Wind from the West
http://oldworld.sjsu.edu/asiangate/bridgingtheocean/index.html
A site by a class project at San Jose State University. Covers both the Japanese influence on Western Art, and Western influence on Japanese art. Timeline is useful for understanding the historic events in Japan and Europe around the time when Japanese art products flowed into European countries. Particularly informative and well organized are the analysis pages on composition and subjects of Japanese woodblock prints. Unfortunately many links on the Image Sources category are dead.
Le Japonisme
http://www.hku.hk/french/dcmScreen/lang3022/lang3022_japonisme.htm (English Translation by Google)
A page from the site of the University of Hong Kong French Studies. Informative page, providing information about the artists who are not covered enough in other sites such as Cezanne and Matisse.
Objects must Reflect Workmanship and Essence
http://www.1775-2000.dk/UK/History/V.htm
Selected from the Royal Copenhagen's 225 years anniversary site. Despite offering only a common narration of the Japonism movement, valuable page allowing us to see a work of this famous brand that reflects the Hiroshige's woodblock print.
The Influence of Japanese Art on Western Culture
http://home9.inet.tele.dk/pgt/index.html
Created by a former librarian in Denmark. Both English and Danish versions are available. The essay provides comparative analysis between Japanese Ukiyo-e and the paintings by some artists including Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. Also covers the history of the development of Ukiyo-e in Japan and the background information on Japan's limited trade with overseas during its national isolation.
Specific Movements
Art Nouveau: The importance of New Decoration
http://www.qdesign.co.nz/designhist_artnou.html
Describes how Japanese traditional aesthetics, especially the unique vision of woodblock prints and sharp observation of nature, impacted on the Art Nouveau artists, and contributed to their designs.
Japonisme in Vienna
http://www.aac.pref.aichi.jp/english/aac/aac11-e/aac11-4japonisme-3.html
An article about the previous exhibit from from the PR magazine of Aichi Art Center in Japan . Introduces the artistic movement developed in Vienna, and briefly explains how the artists in Vienna came into contact with Japanese art and inspired by it. Would be better if the image could be enlarged.
La Réception de l'art Japonais en Belgique, Aperçu Général
http://www.art-memoires.com/lettre/lm1517/16ulgjbawin.htm (English Translation by Google)
Describes the reaction of people in Belgium to Japanese art, and introduces some works that used Japanese motifs
created by Belgian artists. Important site, providing information on less
well known Belgian art.
*As of May 2, temporarily unavailable for maintenance.
ArtCafe: Art History
http://artcafe.net/ah/index.html
Index for the Art History articles on ArtCafe.net, an information resource site for artists and art fans. Leads to an overview of the Japonism movement, development process of woodblock prints in Japan, and the life and achievements of several artists influenced by Japanese prints (Beardsley, Degas, Monet and Whistler) . Detailed information is concisely put into each article by the founder of this site. The links embedded in the text allow effective site navigation.
Artelino Forum: Articles on Art
http://www.artelino.com/forum/articles_index.asp
Article index from artelino.com, an auction site for Japanese and Chinese art. Although the main purpose of this site is to auction off paintings, also has useful information resources for Asian art lovers, including the artist database and glossary. The Japonism articles relate the enthusiasm of Gogh and Monet for Ukiyo-e. The Impressionism articles briefly explain how Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec encountered and learned Japanese woodblock prints.
Features on Individual Artists
James McNeill Whistler
Exhibitions: The Peacock Room
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/peacock.htm
Presented by Smithonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. This online exhibition of the Peacock room, which is famous for the Whistler's decoration, reveals the details of its Oriental design and the circumstances in which it was created. Although no information is available about the Japanese influence on Whistler, valuable site for enjoying his works that are praised as the masterpieces of Japonism art.
The American who Discovered Japan
http://digilander.libero.it/webpainter/amjap/whistler.html
A page from the Italian art site. Describes how Whistler, who was born in the United States, met Japanese art in Europe, and what kind of contribution he made to the artistic revolution in the 19th century. Interesting effect on images, making them automatically switch from one to another.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Paris, from Montmartre to the Palace Blanche
http://www.moulinrouge.fr/html_gb/frameset_historic_paris.htm
From the official site of Moulin Rouge in France. Brief narration of the history, but effectively informs us of the impact of Japonism on society as well as on this widely known cabaret.
The San Diego Museum of Art: The Posters of Toulouse-Lautrec
http://www.sandiegomuseum.org/lautrec/
A site for the Toulouse-Lautrec collection in the museum. Includes the exhibition of his works, explanation of his painting techniques and various things and events that Toulouse-Lautrec was devoted to. The definition of the term Japonism is also provided.
Toulouse-Lautrec Peers at Japan
http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/03/07/fp18s2-csm.shtml
An article from the March 2001 issue of Christian Science Monitor. Introduces one painting by Toulouse-Lautrec that effectively shows the dramatic encounter of Western countries with Japanese art. Also describes the people's craze for Japanese products at the end of the last century.
Vincent van Gogh
Artist's Resources: When van Gogh Turned Japanese
http://artwell.com/features/archives/o-1-98.shtml
An article presented by Artwell.com, an information resource site for artists. Describes Gogh's admiration for Japanese woodblock prints, and his various attempts to integrate Japanese art style into traditional Western paintings. Unfortunately, the link for the related websites at the bottom of the page is dead.
Van Gogh Museum: Permanent Collection: Van Gogh's Life
http://www.vangoghmuseum.com/bisrd/top-1-2-2-4-3.html
From theVan Gogh Museum website. Permanent Collection section includes the extensive gallery of Gogh's works and the detailed story of his life filled with vicissitudes. Explains Japanese woodblock prints as the base for his unique artistic experiments. The outline of the Japonism movement is also available. Very informative site, showing how important Japanese art was for Gogh and his art.
Vincent van Gogh: Lessons from Japan
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/visitors/018.htm
An article from the Vincent van Gogh Gallery site. Introduces the history of the Japonism movement, and discusses what in Japanese art appealed to Gogh so much. Also includes episodes of other main artists such as Manet in that period. Selected for this Webliography based on the site's authority, although no information is available about the author of this article.
Other Artists
Ando Hiroshige Japanese Art Influencing Western Art
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~johnxyz/hiroshige/influences/influences.htm
From the comprehensive site for Hiroshige Ando (Utagawa). Provides information on a few artists who praised and accepted the colors and motifs of Hiroshige's woodblock prints. Includes short stories, images of works that used Hiroshige's techniques and links to external resources.
Aubrey Beardsley by Stephen Calloway (V & A Publications 1998)
http://www.btinternet.com/~rubberneck/beardsley.html
An article presented by an independent publisher in the U.K. Includes useful information on Beardsley's life and his art style. Only briefly touches on Japonism, but the images of his work and a Japanese print reveal the large impact of this movement on Beardsley's art.
Christies Featured Auction: 19th Century European Art
http://www.christies.com/promos/oct03/2602/overview.asp
Introduces a painting by the Dutch painter, George Hendrik Breitner. Important page, providing an opportunity to see a work of this artist, who may be less familiar to many people.
Japan in Impressionism- Ukiyo-E
http://www.renoirclub.com/japan.htm
The site itself is dedicated to Renoir, but also introduces other artists' works, including Monet and Cassatt. Interesting analysis on two primary painting techniques that the Impressionist artists used inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.
Monet & Japan
http://www.nga.gov.au/MonetJapan/Default.cfm
Prepared for the past exhibition in National Gallery of Australia. Provides excellent resources on Monet and Japanese prints that he drew upon, ranging from the description of his eventful life and artistic vision to comprehensive collection of works. The best part of this site is Compare Works, an image database that allows an immediate comparison of works on a requested theme.
Talwin Morris's Influence- Japonism
http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/MultimediaStudentProjects/00-01/9704030f/project/html/japonism.htm
Discusses the influence of Japanese woodblock prints on British artists,
showing the skillful book cover designs by Talwin Morris.
Bibliographies, Study Guides, Course Syllabi
Asian/Asian American Art and Culture
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/asian/
Created by the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts. The Aesthetics section analyzes the difference between the Japanese and Western ways of appreciating beauty, and the Influences on Western Artists section describes some artists' devotion to the Japanese art. Well organized and useful information resource for general people as well as for students majoring art.
Art History: Japan and Its Contacts With the West
http://library.cc.hawaii.edu/external/asdp/art/easian/japan/leavens.htm
A course syllabus previously offered in Kapiolani Community College in Hawaii. Although not current, the bibliography in the latter half is useful, covering various topics that are related to, and needed to learn the Japonism movement such as transculturation and connections between Japan and the West.
Infography Japonisme and Japonism
http://www.infography.com/content/258129310914.htm
From the Infography resource presented by Field of Knowledge, an academic knowledge base. An important bibliography focusing on books that deal with the trend of Japonism in Western countries.
Study Guide: Japonisme
http://www.elcamino.cc.ca.us/Faculty/cfitzsimons/art6_studyguidejaponisme.htm
Created by a professor at El Camino College. The important points for studying Japonism are concisely put into one page. A good source to know what kind of course is offered in college on this topic, and to get a clue about where to start in studying Japonism.
Visions of People: The Influences of Japanese Prints- Ukiyo-e upon Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century French Art
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/4/82.04.03.x.html
Extensive information resource designed for instructors prepared by Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Includes bibliographies for both instructors and students, detailed history of Japan's national isolationism and the development of Ukiyo-e, and its influx in Europe.
Cultural Encounters: The Orient
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/encounters/orient/orient-Thumb.00008.html
A large image collection of paintings inspired by Oriental arts. Japanese related ones can be found on this page, and next two pages. Good site for taking a quick survey of the Japanese art style employed in the major Western paintings.
Japonisme: The Influence of Japanese Prints on Western Art
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/amico/images-disabled/japan/japonisme.html
Interesting comparison between the Japanese woodblock prints that influenced western art, and the Western works that were influenced by those Japanese prints. Arranged by the subject matters and composition. Despite missing some images necessary for comparison, useful page to learn what the artists in Europe learned from Japanese art style.
Secondhand Rose: Aesthetic Movement
http://www.secondhandrose.com/aesth/main.htm
Presented by an antique shop with the same name in New York. Exhibits products that employed the Japanese motifs, including ceramics and furniture. L'art Nouveau and Asian Arts sections are also interesting, illustrating what kinds of designs were appreciated in 19th century. Although not focusing on European art, and no detailed information is available for each product, important site, introducing the Japanese influence on the Western art other than paintings.
Artquizz: Japonism
http://quizzart.free.fr/japonismeA.htm
Several questions are available on Japonism movement and Japanese art. Your answers can be automatically checked. Enjoy it and see how much knowledge you have on Japonism!
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum: Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey
http://www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu/collections/Japonisme.htm
Introduces the Japonism collection of the museum. Unfortunately no description is provided on the lineup of the collection, but important information about the permanent collection focused on Japonism.
Yoko Kudo
yokokudo@hawaii.edu