Japonism in French Impressionism: Traditional Aesthetic Elements Gaining A New Life

A cultural movement that emerged in the final years of the 19th century in Europe and North America, Japonism refers to the impact and incorporation of Japanese culture and art in the west, a result of increased cultural exchange and trade. Amongst the art movements that took  inspiration from this unique wave of Japanese aesthetics, French Impressionism stands out as artists like Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and Edgar Degas created works that combined their modes of avant-garde painting with Japanese motifs, crafting a perfect melange of European modernism and Japanese tradition. From La Japonaise to Olympia, from L´Absinthe to La Parisienne, French Impressionism integrated characteristics of Japonism during their creation. This article will take you through some noteworthy cases of French Impressionism intersecting with Japonism.

As a part of his experimentation, Monet captures the fascination with Japanese elements in France as he employs some of the most iconic features of Japanese art. One of the first traits that the spectator might notice in La Japonaise is the use of vibrant color  in both the main character and the background, which is reminiscent of Japanese prints. Camille Monet, both the main subject and Claude Monet's wife, wears a bright red Japanese kimono while holding an ornately decorated traditional fan. The composition is  striking as Camille dominates the foreground in a theatrical pose with a dramatic facial expression. The background is filled with colorful fans containing Japanese-style portraits, landscapes, and mystical themes.The loose brushwork and flattened perspective are a great shift away from the conventional painting style of realism, characterized by its strict adherence to portraying the world as it actually appears, and constructs a delicate balance between the originality of French impressionist painters and the exoticism of Japanese prints.

As one of the leading artists of Japonism in France, Edouard Manet´s timeless painting Olympia is also a product of combining japonism with his personal style. Olympia depicts a nude prostitute in an audacious pose, gazing directly at the viewer with a provocative  expression. Although deemed scandalous at first, the painting eventually became a classic piece that broadened the boundaries of art by challenging traditional artistic conventions. The nudity and the subject´s seductive pose strongly relate to the Ukiyo-e prints in the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868). Apart from these elements, Manet´s quintessential use of flattened perspective and bold use of color also resonate with the Ukiyo-e prints, fostering a modern and exotic atmosphere for the viewers.  

Manet´s usage of a screen behind the woman instills a deep sense of isolation and accentuates the brutal reality of the subject’s  status as no more than an object of desire. Manet´s choice of including a screen in the composition stems from the widespread appearance of screens and panels in the Ukioy-e prints. Manet's Olympia is a seminal work of Japonism, in which the avant-garde is intricately intertwined with  Japanese tradition.

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Another notable case of intersection between French Impressionism and Japonism is Degas´ L´Absinthe. The artist depicts a woman and a man sitting in a Parisian café, as the woman stares into her beverage and man looks into the void. Absinthe refers to a green spirit popular in Paris at the time. The influence of Japanese tradition is evident in the use of asymmetry and negative space as well as  the emphasis on line and form. In contrast to more conventional French styles, the main characters occupy only the middle and right side of the frame, whereas the left side only contains a wall and two tables. This sense of asymmetry is similar to that of Japanese prints such as Girl with Insect Cage and Girl Reading A Letter shown above. In addition, the large proportions of negative space (the empty space around the subject) highlights the sense of emotional loneliness and psychological hollowness that serve as the work´s theme.

The depiction of the woman’s face is another prime example of Japonism. Rather than rendering her facial features and expressions in a conventionally realistic fashion, Degas flattens and simplifies these elements in a successful attempt to highlight her emotional detachment and isolation in the Parisian urban life in the late 19th century. The flatness and lack of conventional details in the portrayal of her face is reminiscent of stylized faces in the Japanese prints of the Edo period, such as Woman Bathing Under Flowers shown above. Overall, L´Absinthe is another exemplary case of incorporation of Japanese tradition in the avant-garde of late 19th-century France.

In summary, Japonism facilitated the expression of the power, provocativeness, ingenuity, detachment, and subjectivity in French Impressionism as artists experimented with various elements in the Japanese tradition to perfect their exploration in the avant-garde.

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