One of Vincent van Gogh’s main influences, besides artists such as Delacroix and Millet, was Japanese art. Van Gogh adored the prints of Japanese artists and he often used them as a source of inspiration, especially for his landscape paintings. What he loved about them were their original, inventive compositions and bright colors.
Vincent’s favorite Japanese painter was Utagawa Hiroshige, of whom he possessed several works. He painted exact copies after them, some of which are now on display in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Hiroshige (1797–1858) was one of the last representatives of the so-called Ukiyo-e, a Japanese genre of paintings, woodblock prints and woodcuts, produced between 1620 and 1867. This woodcut by Hiroshige from the Rijksmuseum collection, depicting an eagle floating over a winter landscape of Fukagawa, is one of a cycle of views of (the area of) Edo, today's Tokyo. Characteristic of Hiroshige’s art are the beautiful colors and the uncommon point of view, inviting the spectator to look more precisely.
In the second part of the nineteenth century, Japanese art became fashionable among European artists. This trend, called ‘Japonisme’, was particularly strong in Paris, where the art dealer Siegfried Bing sold Japanese prints, paintings and artifacts in his gallery, Maison de l’Art Nouveau. Bing’s exotic merchandise heavily influenced the post-modernists (including Van Gogh, who lived in Paris at that time), as well as the young artists who began to work in a new style, which became known as Art Nouveau, named after Bing’s shop.
Vincent’s favorite Japanese painter was Utagawa Hiroshige, of whom he possessed several works. He painted exact copies after them, some of which are now on display in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Hiroshige (1797–1858) was one of the last representatives of the so-called Ukiyo-e, a Japanese genre of paintings, woodblock prints and woodcuts, produced between 1620 and 1867. This woodcut by Hiroshige from the Rijksmuseum collection, depicting an eagle floating over a winter landscape of Fukagawa, is one of a cycle of views of (the area of) Edo, today's Tokyo. Characteristic of Hiroshige’s art are the beautiful colors and the uncommon point of view, inviting the spectator to look more precisely.
In the second part of the nineteenth century, Japanese art became fashionable among European artists. This trend, called ‘Japonisme’, was particularly strong in Paris, where the art dealer Siegfried Bing sold Japanese prints, paintings and artifacts in his gallery, Maison de l’Art Nouveau. Bing’s exotic merchandise heavily influenced the post-modernists (including Van Gogh, who lived in Paris at that time), as well as the young artists who began to work in a new style, which became known as Art Nouveau, named after Bing’s shop.
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