Japan & Paris: Impressionism, Postimpressionism, and the Modern Era

Rating:
Summary: European modernist painting and Japan
Review: The aim of the Honolulu exhibition of Western and Japanese paintings was to "explore the history of collecting French painting in Japan...and the impact of early European modernism on Japan's painting traditions." The European modernism influenced Japan's traditions mostly through Japanese collectors rather than independent curiosity on the part of the painters, or contact with Western painters. This exhibition catalog is organized to efficiently educate readers on this little-covered influence. Individual paintings by Western and Japanese painters are dealt with with a picture and facing one-page analysis from the perspective of the exhibition's focus. Among the Western painters are Rouault, Matisse, Monet, and the lesser-known French artists Raphael Collin and Jean-Jacques Henner. Morita Tsunetomo, Wada Eisaku, and Kume Keiichiro are among the Japanese artists. It's interesting to see, once it is brought to light by the analyses, the Western modernist influence on the Japanese paintings. New light is shed on both modern European and Japanese art.