Student Scholarship
Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
This paper examines the transformative effect of Japanese art on Western painting during the late nineteenth century, a phenomenon that shifted the trajectory of modern art. Following centuries of isolation, Japan's reopening in the 1850s led to an influx of goods and woodcut prints into Europe. These works, particularly the Hokusai Manga, introduced French artists to entirely new methods of artistic thought. The movement began with the collection of Japanese objects and evolved into a deep study of composition, line, and color application.
The influence on Impressionism is evidenced by the adoption of specific aesthetic characteristics. Artists like Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt moved away from traditional Western symmetry, embracing asymmetrical compositions, the dynamic use of empty space, and bird's eye view perspectives. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edouard Manet utilized flat areas of color and bold, expressive lines to capture movement and spontaneity. These techniques allowed the Impressionists to move beyond pictorial realism and record the world through a more subjective lens.
Post-Impressionism further integrated these concepts, shifting the focus from recording the environment to individual self-expression. The Nabis group and Henri Matisse adopted Oriental aesthetics such as continuous decoration and plastic space. Vincent van Gogh represented the peak of this influence, adopting the Japanese love for nature and their disciplined, rapid brushwork. Van Gogh’s total immersion in the Japanese style allowed him to treat art as a pure mode of emotional release. Ultimately, the integration of Japanese principles provided the foundation for modern art by proving that painting could exist as a form of spiritual and intellectual expression rather than just a factual record of reality.
Research Highlights
The Problem: Western art during the late nineteenth century faced a creative plateau characterized by decadent Romanticism, exhausted Neo-Classic themes, and the obsolescence of pictorial realism due to the emergence of the camera.
The Method: This 1973 analysis examines the specific stylistic and compositional influences of Japanese art—including line, flat color, empty space, and unique perspectives—on the works of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists such as Manet, Whistler, Degas, Cassatt, Lautrec, and van Gogh.
Qualitative Finding: Japanese art introduced a method of "suggestion" over factual statement, leading artists to prioritize asymmetrical compositions, the use of "space" as a living design element, and the reduction of nature to expressive zones of flat color.
Publication Date
5-1973
Recommended Citation
Selvig, Maribeth, "The Japanese Influence on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism" (1973). Student Scholarship. 180.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/student-research-papers/180
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Faculty Sponsor
Archive