#japonism

[museum-of-artistry]

The White Cat (1894) by Pierre Bonnard

[bobbole]

Raphael Kirchner

[useless-catalanfacts]

Interior decoration of Casa Navàs, a Catalan modernist house built in 1908 in Reus (Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia).

The woodwork, like the rest of the house, was made in Catalonia by Catalan artists, but in these pieces of furniture we can see the influence of Japanese art. The way that images are represented is similar to Japanese ukiyo-e prints. In the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, Japanese art was so admired in Europe that it became greatly influential, developing the Japonism style which can be seen in European decorative arts, clothing, architecture, and gardening to different degrees in different European countries. In Catalonia, the Japanese influence is most clearly seen in furniture.

Catalonia and Japan's artistic relationship continues nowadays both ways. Catalan architects such as Antoni Gaudí and other modernists are very liked in Japan, and Japanese tourists were among the very first tourists we started getting who came to visit architectural heritage.

Photos posted on Casa Navàs' Instagram and Facebook.

[gentlyepigrams]

Dinner dress by the House of Worth, made of silk, featuring a chrysanthemum motif, used in this ensemble to substantiate the Japonism style of that period, c. 1892. Kyoto Costume Institute

[vintagefashionplates]

Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world.

In art history, the term Orientalism refers to the works of mostly 19th-century Western artists who specialized in Oriental subjects, produced from their travels in Western Asia, during the 19th century.

Chinoiserie media included imitations of lacquer and painted tin (tôle) ware that imitated japanning, early painted wallpapers in sheets, and ceramic figurines and table ornaments. The popularity of chinoiserie peaked around the middle of the 18th century when it was associated with the Rococo style.

Pleasure pavilions in "Chinese taste" appeared in the formal parterres of late Baroque and Rococo German palaces. The Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace is rife with chinoiserie designs. King George IV was a keen patron of chinoiserie, and had many rooms created in this style.

As a style, chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style. Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure.

While Europeans frequently held inaccurate ideas about East Asia, this did not necessarily preclude their fascination and respect. It's suggested that the majority of Orientalism was derived out of a genuine fascination and admiration of Eastern cultures, not prejudice or malice. [x]

[geritsel]

Charles W. Bartlett - Taj-Mahal by twilight. Color woodblock print, c.1920.

[postcardaday]

Feeding the Ducks, Mary Cassatt, 1895