Degas and more of his works

Although Degas was interested with Japonisme, he did not capture Japanese people dressing in kimonos as his subject matter. Instead, like what I have already discuss in the previous blog, Japonisme appearing in Degas’ works, Degas mostly absorbed Japanese’s uses of aerial perspective, bold colors, asymmetrical compositions, and empty spaces filled with abstract elements of line and color.

“Ballet Rehearsal” by Edgar Degas

In “Ballet Rehearsal” (1876), Degas used the element of Japanese arts, such as “cutting off figures with the picture frame” (Lambourne, 39). For instance, the man in the black suit who is sitting in a chair and is playing violin is presented by being in the corner and a part of his body appears cropped. A type of paintings like “Ballet Rehearsal” was believed to be inspired by either the double-page spread of Dance of the Servant in volume III of the Manga or Hokusai’s “Odori Hitori Geiko” (Self-taught Dancing Apprenticeship).

“A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers” by Edgar Degas

“A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers” (1865) also demonstrates the figures cropped at the edges. The woman is cut off at the right corner of the picture while a large bouquet of flowers is placed in the center of the picture. Moreover, her left hand is almost invisible at the lower right corner.

These kinds of unusual cropping and asymmetrical framing are often found in Degas’ works of art; however, instead of copying Japanese arts completely, Degas “seized on the Japanese artists' economy of line, their use of evocative neutral colors, the flatness of their spaces, and their asymmetrical compositions” (Einspruch, 6) and made paintings in his own style.

Ukiyo-e artists and their works

The elements of Japanese art that were in contrast to Roman-Greco art were greatly admired by the 19^th century’s Impressionists; Jules de Goncourt in his Journal wrote that “Japonisme brought to the West a new coloration,” “a new system of decoration, and….. a poetic fantasy in the creation of the art object.” (Tanabe, 1) When making artworks, Japanese artists usually observed nature and applied it in their artworks.

“Senju No Ohashi” (Great Bridge at Senju) by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige, a master of Japanese landscape, was one of the Ukiyo-e artists. In 1856, he created “Senju No Ohashi” (Great Bridge at Senju) from the series of Meisho Edo Hyakkei (A Hundred Famous Views of Edo). His art “[suggested] a careful observation of [beautiful landscape of Edo]” (Kita, 34); however, he made the landscape into an attractive artwork by putting his own creativity and the Japanese art’s elements into it. The composition and the perspective of Japanese elements were clearly shown in this image; the strong diagonal of the bridge was the example. In this Edo landscape, the use of flat surface space was also presented; for instance, there were lacks of the use of bridge’s shadow and boats’ shadows that made the bridge and boats flowing around. For viewing this kind of Ukiyo-e pictures, viewers should use their own understandings instead of the letting the artists provide every single information. Moreover, the details of the small houses, people, and boats (decorative arts) in this print also showed parts of Japanese elements.

“Meisho Edo Hyakkei: Yotsuya, Naito Shinjuku” by Utagawa Hiroshige

Another print by Utagawa Hiroshige from the series A Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo that showed the Ukiyo-e elemets was “Meisho Edo Hyakkei: Yotsuya, Naito Shinjuku” (Yotsuya: The New Station at Naito). This image possessed an extraordinary view; “a row of shops seen through the leg of horses.” (Kita, 66) The trimming of the horse’s legs demonstrated an unusual composition that was always found in Ukiyo-e pictures. Furthermore, the bold and pure colors were applied in this image; the tone of brown color of the horse and green all over the ground were some of the examples.

“Azumabashi Kinryusan Enbo” by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige in his print, “Azumabashi Kinryusan Enbo” (Distant View of Kinryusan from Azuma Bridge) from the series A Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, also put the Ukiyo-e elements. He played with the composition by cropping the boat and placing it in the extreme foreground; this strong diagonal of the boat was used to capture the viewers’ eye. Hiroshige also placed the viewers’ eye in an awkward level with the bottom side of the boat and the water. (Kita, 69) The small-scaled city details in the background and the colors, a complex realism of hue, Hiroshige used were ingredients that could be found in Japanese arts.

A set of prints by Adachi Ginko

This set of prints, 1886, by Adachi Ginko, presented elements in the Ukiyo-e; for examples, the details of the people, the road, and the boats and the use of pure and monochrome colors.

Japonisme appearing in Degas’ works

Edgar Degas, a well-known French painter and sculptor in the late 19^th century, was born in Paris on July 19^th, 1834. During his career, he was considered as one of the Impressionists group even though he himself preferred to be labeled as a Realist or Independent. Like other Impressionists, such as Cassatt, Monet, Manet, and Whistler, Degas also used Japanese principles in creating works of art. He was deeply inspired by Hokusai’s sketches of Manga, especially those that depicted women washing themselves in awkward poses. Later, in the late 1870s, “Hokusai’s vision was echoed in Degas’ favoured themes” (Lambourne, 41); it was found that the study of women bathing appeared to be the main theme in Degas’ works.

“The Tub” (1886) by Edgar Degas

Women at Public Bath from the Manga vol. I, c. 1820 by Katsushika Hokusai

“The Tub” (1886) is an example of Degas’ works that was influenced by Hokusai. Both of Degas’ and Hokusai’s work possess woman/women in an awkwardly pose(s) washing at their toilette. Japanese prints’ principles, such as linear emphasis and strong diagonal perspective also appear in Degas’. In Degas’, the line of the round tub, which starts at the woman’s hairline, joins the strong diagonal line of the shelf. This kind of line is often found in Japanese’s arts in order to suggest that the bottom of the picture represents the nearest view from the viewers and the higher point of the picture indicates the further view from the viewers. Even though these two images have the same theme and devices; however, Degas was not completely copied Hokusai’s Manga; “inspiration was all he took from these prints.” (Walter, 3) In “The Tub”, the view of women bathing is more realistic and its woman’s pose is also lesser bizarre compared to the Hokusai’s. From this example, we understand that Japanese (Eastern) influenced Western art but the Western artists did not apply the exact techniques and styles instead they modified them into their arts.

“Woman in the Tub” (1883) by Edgar Degas

“Woman in the Tub” (1883) is another example of Degas’ works that possess bathing women as a theme. This image is inspired by Japanese artist, Utagawa Kunisada. Both of Degas’ and Kunisada’s works portray woman who is kneeling in a tub and cleaning herself. However, Degas’ figure has more natural pose compared to Kunisada’s. Also, while Degas used more color in his painting, Kunisada used only a very light line drawing.

"Woman in the Tub" (1884) by Edgar Degas

This painting by Degas is another example that shows similar scene, a woman portrayed washing herself; it also has Japonisme influences.

Overall, there are significant relationships between Degas’ works and Japonisme; many of his works are known to have Japanese’s elements. Degas’ study of Japanese arts, including experimenting with unusual visual angles and asymmetrical compositions, led him to recognize “a different and intriguing way of looking at the world” (Art at Loggia, 2).

Japonisme and its movements

According to Wikipedia, Japonisme is a French term that stands for the influence of the arts of Japan on the West. The word Japonisme was first used by Jules Claretie in his book L'Art Francais en that was published in 1872. Japonisme has been considered to be a mainly visual arts movement and has manipulated artworks in the same, similar, and different fields of arts; starting from the influence of prints on prints all the way to the influence of prints on sculpture. In 1860s, Ukiyo-e wood-block prints became one of the most prominent inspirations for Western artists, especially for the European Impressionists. Even artists outside of the Impressionist group, such as Van Gogh, were inspired by Japanese arts; Van Gogh ever said, “I envy the Japanese artists for the incredible neat clarity which all their works have. It is never boring and you never get the impression that they work in a hurry. It is as simple as breathing.” Thus, Van Gogh made some paintings that imitate the Japanese art; for instance, Retrato de Père Tanguy that shows "a background totally covered with Japanese prints......... such familiar themes as Mount Fuji, geishas, 'morning glory' flowers and typical landscapes of all four seasons." (Lambourne, 47)

“Retrato de Pere Tanguy” 1887-1888

The Ukiyo-e prints inspired the Impressionists both in the subject matter as well as in the Japanese use of artistic forms, such as the use of asymmetrical composition, cropped edge, bold and pure colors, assertive outlines, decorative ornaments, and flat planes. Japanese decorative arts brought a new freedom from photographic representation; they introduced new and refreshing formats of making arts. The use of bold and pure colors in flat picture planes made the trend of abstraction rising up. Many Impressionists were also affected by the lack of shadow that Japanese’ used.

The prints of floating world were actually a significant sign of modernity within Japan feudal society. In Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate, ruled from 1615-1868, was forbidding its society to make contacts with the outside world. Only in an area, called Edo, laws of restricted food, dress, and actions or behaviors were not applied. This kind of freedom was identified as the freedom of floating world which also allowed artists to develop and to make thousands of prints based on what they liked. (Friedman, 18)

Hokusai and Impressionists

In the late nineteenth century, Japanese prints came to Europe and several Impressionists, such as Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Marry Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and Whistler admired these works. Because of the “two-dimensional treatment of the composition, playing actively against the strongly suggested three-dimensional implications of the subject,” the work of Katsushika Hokusai, “The Great Wave”, became the most inspiring work for Impressionists. When we view this Hokusai’s print, we feel that we are also experiencing what the men in the boats are experiencing. Because of the “huge roller-coaster ride our eyes take as they slide downward from the right side of the print and up through the minor crest to leap into space with the foam at the crest of the great wave,” (D. La Plante, 259) we as viewers seem to be involved in the print.

"The Great Wave" by Hokusai

While many Impressionists were influenced by Japanese art, Hokusai himself was influenced by Western artists, Claes Jansz Visscher and Willem Buytewech, in producing his artworks. In Holland in the late1500s, landscape art was developed by Visscher and Buytewech. Since then, Hokusai greatly admired the perspective, shading, and realistic shadows that Dutch’s and French’s landscapes possessed. He observed the Western landscapes painting and turned the landscapes into Japanese landscapes. Also, he introduced the aspect of the unity of man in the paintings; in “The Great Wave”, “tiny humans are tossed around under giant waves.” (Andreas, 7)

From this example, we could have a conclusion that Eastern and Western arts played the same roles in affecting the modernity. Both Western and Eastern arts had their own uniqueness, originality, and greatness in art; they then learned from each other and applied them to their own arts. Therefore, it is not true to think of modernity only as “Westernization”.

Form of Japanese art (Ukiyo-e woodblock prints)

There are many forms of Japanese art, ranging from Kabuki and bunraku (puppet theater), ancient pottery, ink paintings on silk and paper to sculpture in wood and bronze. In this blog, I would not talk about every single art form instead I will discuss a form of Japanese art that influenced the European Impressionist the most, the ukiyo-e woodblock prints, in more depth.

In Japan, during the Edo period (1600-1868), Ukiyo-e appeared as hanging scrolls, folding screens, book illustrations, hand-coloured albums, calendars, and woodblock prints. This style of woodblock prints later became the most dominant art form in Japan. Ukiyo-e, meaning “pictures of the floating world” focused upon contemporary life and fashion. It possessed three major themes, which were bijin (beautiful women), famous actors, and landscapes. In 1670s, Hishikawa Moronobu and other Edo artists produced a single-color works or black and white prints, hand-coloured in orange-red; their styles were like the imitations of the calligraphic characters of the ink-brushed lines. Around 1769, the first truly technique of polychrome printing, “the device enabled printers to register several colour-blocks accurately,” (T. Webb & Vollmer, 144) was developed by Suzuki Harunobu. Ukiyo-e prints were originally single-sheet prints and later on they were used for book illustrations; they also were used as posters for the kabuki theater. To produce these prints, artist, wood-block carver, printer, and publisher collaborated with each other. Artist was the one who designed, drew, and chose the color, wood-block carver engraved the wood, the printer applied colors on the wood-block, and the publisher was the one who planned and financed all the prints. Ukiyo-e prints were mass-produced; therefore, they were affordable even to people who were not able to afford original paintings. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, thousands of Ukiyo-e prints done by four-part process, involving artist, wood-block carver, printer, and publisher, were produced in Japan and were sold all over the world.

Ukiyo-e images were very different compared to the Western arts in the idea of perspective, colors, and compositions. While in Western art the idea of perspective was used very successfully, in Japanese prints there was not such a thing as illusion of perspective; the prints possessed flat space on a flat piece of paper. The colors used in ukiyo-e prints were flat, opaque, and two-dimensional; however, the colors used in the Western arts could enhance the characteristic of realism and could make the artworks to be treated in three-dimensional manner. Japanese arts also had unique compositional devices for creating diagonal planes in order to suggest the perspective; “the bottom of a picture must represent the point nearest the spectator; the higher up positions in a picture denote space further away from the viewer. Secondly, lines must converge as they approach the foreground. Lines grow wider as they recede into the flat background.” (Flynn, 13)

As Berman said in his book that “modernity equals freedom; there are no loose ends” (Berman, 25) and as Ukiyo-e pictures referred to “transient pleasures and freedom from the cares and concerns of the world” (Tokugawa gallery, 2), Ukiyo-e could be defined as part of modernity; they both share the aspect of freedom. While freedom in modernity means that we do not need to obey the rules that have already existed because we are creating and changing the world and make it our own, freedom in the images of the floating world depicts “the pleasures of life that [help] to relieve the restraints of urban Japanese life.” (Flynn, 11) Thus, the condition of Japanese life had been changed; it became a vibrant and sophisticated urban life centering the world of teashops, wine, songs, cherry blossoms, Kabuki theatre, courtesans, and brothels. (T. Webb & Vollmer, 143) Society, including artists got freedom and began to be able to depict and insert the idealized version to the prints.

These are some of the examples of the Ukiyo-e images that depict bijin (beautiful women):

Modernity as a “Western” concept

Modernity is an idea about the present that is discontinuous with the past because of the process of social and cultural change. Marshall Berman in his book, “All That Is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity”, talks about how to be modern is the same as having fights to change the world and make it our own. (Berman, 13) He also continues by dividing modernity as three phases. The first phase occurred from sixteenth century to the end of eighteenth century, the second phase in 1790s, and the final phase began in the twentieth century. (17) Were there aspects that had changed from 18^th century to 19^th or 29^th century? There were wide range of aspects, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, and electronic media, that did not exist century ago but since 19^th century they have existed. As well as broken into phases, modernity could also be divided into two sections; “modernization” in economics and politics and “modernism” in art, culture, and sensibility. (87)

Usually people tend to think of modernity as the Western property (it is connected to United States, Britain, and Europe) and they think that the Eastern only imitates what Western has or had done. They believe that every single modern aspect was developed by the West world rather than the East world. Here, in this blog I would like to argue that this kind of thought is not true; the truth is that Eastern and Western play equal roles in the modern life.

More department stores were established in Western major cities rather than in Eastern major cities. It is also correct that the first true department store was founded by Aristide Boucicaut in Paris, Western side. Boucicaut founded Le Bon Marche in 1838 and by 1852, every boutique was organized and variety of goods could be found inside one building for easier shopping experience. From that day, the process of modernity has deeply affected the society’s massive participation, especially women in the exploding culture of consumption; people from different classes and different cultures mingle together inside the department stores. Speaking about department store means that we are speaking about the development of everyday life in the modern city or we could call it as modernity. According to Emile Zola, a researched novelist, department stores are symbols of the “forward momentum of the age: the bold new forms of capitalism” and they are “modern machine which devours the small outdated commercial enterprises surrounding it.” (Nava, 65) The first department store, one among signs of modernity, was established in Western world but it does not mean that the innovation in modernization could not come from anywhere else but the West.

In the East, for example, Quanzhou, a city in Fujian Province south of Shanghai, was also considered as a city of modernity. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou was considered as having the biggest sea port in the East, “marking the golden age of ocean transportation and foreign trades, tied its dealing with about a hundred nations.” (Ancient city Quanzhou, 4) It was the starting point of the "Silk Road on the Sea". Through the Silk Road which stretched its way through Asia, Europe, and Africa, gunpowder, papermaking, printing, compass, Chinese tea, porcelain, and silk production were traveled around the world. Also, the activity of exporting and importing goods between China and Europe went through the Silk Road; “providing links with ancient overland routes to Africa and Europe, the Silk Road paved the way for extensive political, economic, and cultural exchanges among widely separated regions and ethnic groups.” (Silk Road – China Style, 2) Asides from the Silk Road, China was also considered to be the first country in the world that produced silks and nowadays, “silk remains one of China's greatest offerings to the peoples of the world, surpassing every other Chinese product in the scope of its distribution.” (3)

I hope this writing could convince all of you that modernity is not only started by the West; the East also plays an equal role in affecting the world’s modernity.