Vincent Van Gogh

Ogata Korin’s Iris Masterpieces Reunion Postponed

Referring to Ogata Korin’s Irises in a post last week reminded me that an important early 18th century reunion was due to take place this month – the long-awaited exhibition of the two famous Korin pairs of gold folding screens – the Eight-Planked Bridges pair from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and the Japanese National Treasure Irises, here in Tokyo at the Nezu Museum. Without really considering current events, last week I went to the Nezu and was disappointed to discover it was not to be. As the Nezu’s website states, “In deference to the tragic circumstances of the major earthquake of March 11 and the immediate challenges ahead for our city and our nation, the Nezu and its partners have decided it would be best to reschedule the very important Kōrin Exhibition to Spring 2012.” This sounds like a joint decision, but forgive me if my instincts tell me that the Met must have backed out or perhaps that the insurance carriers wouldn’t allow it. That being said, one can’t blame them for not wanting to part with such a treasure in such unclear times.

As the photos cannot in any way do justice to these works, luckily, the Nezu has its Irises on seasonal display anyway. In typical Japanese style, remember, when the irises are gone, the screens will be too, so I encourage anyone local to run over to the museum. Unfortunately, the Met does not have its pair on display, perhaps for no other reason than they expected them to be in Japan right now. I have added a photo I took of the Irises for those who can’t visit the Nezu, as a counterpoint to the very flat studio photos above.

These irises represent more than just a pretty view of nature. These are a scene from The Tales of Ise, distilled to its purest form. In this particular story, the hero is travelling east from Kyoto when he arrives in Yatsuhashi (Eight-Bridges) in Mikawa province, a place famous for its irises. The beauty of the irises coupled with his homesickness for his wife encourages him to compose a poem of longing and beauty:

I have a beloved wife,
Familiar as the skirt
Of a well-worn robe,
And so this distant journeying
Fills my heart with grief.

You can see this motif in other places in Japanese art and irises themselves have become symbolic of the story. Also in the Nezu Museum is this amazing scroll of poems and illustrated fans. Here you can see the iris and eight-planked bridge theme repeated. This vignette style of painting, most often glimpsed in a fan shape, is one of my favorite devices in Japanese art.

And while we are on the subject of iconic iris paintings, I couldn’t help but add these. I have written elsewhere about the influence of Japanese art on Vincent Van Gogh, here is yet another example.

While not possible that Van Gogh could have seen the actual Korin screens, they were reproduced in woodblock print form in the early 19th century in the Korin Hyakuzu Kohen: The Hundred Designs by Korin, which was collected and therefore available in Europe.

For the real thing, check out the beautiful gardens behind the Nezu Museum…

…or later in the month, the iris garden at the Meiji Shrine.

Kinda calling for a post on blues and purples, don’t you think?
Poem source credit: Ogata Korin: Eight-Planked Bridge (Yatsuhashi) (53.7.1-2) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Image Credits: 1-2. Nezu Museum, 3-4 & 8. me, 5-6. Irises, 1889, collection of The Getty Museum and Irises, 1890, collection of the RijksmuseumVincent Van Gogh via ibiblio.org, 7. Korin Hyakuzu Kohen via Irises in the Garden by Jennifer Helvey, 9. L. Glovins

May 2, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight Tags: byobu, Iris, Nezu Museum, Ogata Korin, screen, Vincent Van Gogh

Artist Spotlight…Van Gogh: The Adventure of Becoming an Artist

All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art…
Vincent Van Gogh, in a letter to his brother Theo 1888

Japan is no stranger to Van Gogh exhibitions. In fact, they are routinely the most popular, drawing crowds large enough to liken them to the morning commuter trains. This current exhibition at The National Art Center, on the 120th anniversary of his death, sets out to answer the question of how Van Gogh learned his painting techniques and established his signature style. While visiting the exhibition today – on one of the final days of the show – was almost unenjoyable because of the crowds, it did do a good job of demonstrating its premise.

Van Gogh did not arrive effortlessly at the style we all know and love. For him it was a long and laborious process. Beginning with the traditional painting and drawing techniques Van Gogh studied during his time in Holland, the color theory he learned from Eugene Delacroix and his experimentation with Impressionism, Pointillism and other new styles he encountered in Paris, he slowly worked his way towards his visionary style.

Yet most influential on Van Gogh’s vision were the Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) that he, like so many of his contemporaries, collected. Van Gogh and his brother Theo amassed hundreds and even dealt in them early in their careers. The bold compositions and vibrant flat color planes, truncated perspectives and naturalistic themes informed his later work. Elsewhere on the blog I have shown his copy of Hiroshige’s “Bridge: Sudden Rain at Atake”. He also copied a number of other Japanese prints, including Hiroshige’s “Flowering Plum Tree” and “The Courtesan” (inspired by Keisai Eisen).

Hiroshige Van Gogh Flowering Plum Tree 1887 — Hiroshige/Van Gogh Flowering Plum Tree 1887

Van Gogh The Courtesan (after Eisen) — The Courtesan (after Eisen) 1887

Absorbing all of these elements, Van Gogh moved to Arles in 1888 where his style blossomed almost overnight into the individualistic style that today we all recognize as distinctly his. One of the highlight of the show is “The Bedroom” displayed opposite a life-size recreation of his actual bedroom.

Van GoghThe_Bedroom_1889 — The Bedroom 1889

Van Gogh truly learned by making his own copies of artwork that interested him. In addition to the ukiyo-e copies above, he attempted many studies of Jean-Francois Millet’s 1850 painting “The Sower” early in his career with no success. I think my favorite piece in this show is his much later version, painted in 1888. I had never seen it in person before and it is riveting.

Vincent Van Gogh The Sower 1888 — The Sower 1888

Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Moon, Flower and Hawk Moth — A.R.H.Smith Moon, Flower and Hawk Moth 1917-18

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Courtney Barnes of Style Court had a great post about the woodblock prints of Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, a “Charleston Renaissance” artist who made Japanese-influenced prints in the early 20th century along her adventure in becoming an artist. Barnes links to a really cute interactive presentation from the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston. While the mispronunciations of the narrator are intense, it certainly does demonstrate the long arm of Japanese artistic influence. I do think the presentation underestimates the influence of art movements at the time, such as art nouveau, nor notices the parallel between Smith’s work and the Japanese shin hanga (new prints) movement. Instead it focuses solely on the influence of the much earlier ukiyo-e. For instance, compare Smith’s “Cotton Picker at Twilight” to Kawase Hasui’s “Fisherman at Sunset” below, and then think about how much they both stylistically owe to Van Gogh, by revisiting “The Sower” above.

Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Cotton Picker at Twilight — Cotton Picker at Twilight c. 1920s

Kawase Hasui Fisherman at Sunset — Fisherman at Sunset c. 1930

And more local news, Monet and the Artists of Giverny: The Beginning of American Impressionism has opened at Bunkamura in Shibuya, running until February 17, 2011. The show highlights Giverny’s emergence as an artists’ colony, with painters from all over the world, but particularly from America. Ironically, I am in the middle of reading Charlotte in Giverny by Joan MacPhail Knight to my girls, which is the story of a little American girl who moves with her parents to Giverny for a year as her father is an Impressionist painter. Along the way she meets many of the historical and artistic figures of the time and their paintings are the illustrations to the story. We haven’t gotten to the end yet, but I highly recommend it so far. My just-turned 7-year-old loves it, but my 11-year-old middle-schooler is very interested in listening too.

I don’t think I have thought this much about Impressionism since one of my very first art history courses at University! But revisiting these extraordinary works has been amazing. If you too have been enjoying these recent posts on Impressionism and Japonisme, make sure to check back on Christmas and New Years as I have a few special holiday posts planned. Grab some mulled wine and be prepared for beauty.

Image Credits: 1, 3, 6-7. Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, 2. via About.com, 4-5. Wikipedia, 8-9. Gibbes Museum of Art, 10. via hanga.com, 11. via Bunkamura, 12. Amazon.com