Literature received from an MFA representative defending the museum’s “Kimono Wednesdays” program:
The MFA celebrates art from all cultures and time periods. “Kimono Wednesdays” are an effort to engage visitors with Monet’s portrait and our current celebration of Japanese art and culture throughout the Museum with the exhibitions “Hokusai” and “In the Wake” and our recently reopened Tenshin-En Garden (this year marks the 125th Anniversary of the Museum’s Department of Asian Art).
These replica kimonos were made by a well-known kimono maker in Kyoto for a commission by Japanese broadcaster NHK for the traveling exhibition “Looking East,” which explored how the art and culture of Japan inspired 19th-century artists, like Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. The kimonos were available to try on at Museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya.
The chance to try on a kimono (more accurately, uchikake)&emdash;just like Camille Monet’s in La Japonaise&emdash;presents an opportunity to inform our visitors about “japonisme” and the influence of Japanese art and culture on Monet and other Impressionists. It provides an opportunity for visitors to consider how heavy the robe is, how it feels to wear it, what choices the artist made in creating the pose, and how he used paint to capture the effects of the textile.
Monet appreciated Japanese art and had built a personal collection of Japanese wood block prints and theatrical costumes. The kimono that Monet’s wife wears in the painting is presumably one from Monet’s own collection.
Isn’t this racist/orientalist?
We don’t think this is racist. We hope visitors come away with a better understanding of how Japanese art influenced impressionists like Monet. However, we respect everyone’s opinion and welcome dialogue about art and culture in the Museum
I feel like this is cultural apporpriation, and I think you should stop having these events.
The Museum is a place for dialogue and we appreciate your feedback. At this time we are planning to continue “Kimono Wednesdays” through the month of July, and hope it prompts many conversations about art and culture in Japan and the West.
Beginning in the late 19th century, a craze for all things Japanese brought a radical shift in Western art that came to be known as japonisme. By the 1870s, japonisme had engulfed Paris and Monet’s La Japonaise is a commentary on the Parisian fad for all things Japanese. Camille’s blonde wig was meant to emphasize her Western identity.
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