Japonisme in Britain - A Source of Inspiration: J. McN. Whistler, Mortimer Menpes, George Henry, E.A. Hornel and nineteenth century Japan. Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History of Art, University of Glasgow. By Ayako Ono vol. 1. © Ayako Ono 2001
Japonisme in Britain - A Source of Inspiration: J. McN. Whistler, Mortimer Menpes, George Henry, E.A. Hornel and nineteenth century Japan
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Japonisme in Britain - A Source of Inspiration: J. McN. Whistler, Mortimer Menpes, George Henry,
E.A. Hornel and nineteenth century Japan.
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History of Art, University of Glasgow.
By Ayako Ono
© Ayako Ono 2001
ProQuest Number: 13818783
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is d e p e n d e n t u p on the quality of the co p y subm itted .
In the unlikely e v e n t that the author did not send a c o m p le te m anuscript and there are missing p a g e s , th ese will be n o te d . Also, if m aterial had to be rem o v ed ,
a n o te will in d ica te the d e le tio n .
uest ProQ uest 13818783
Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
All rights reserved. This work is protected a g a in st unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C o d e
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346
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Abstract
Japan held a profound fascination for Western artists in the latter
half of the nineteenth century. The influence of Japanese art is a
phenomenon that is now called Japonisme, and it spread widely
throughout Western art. It is quite hard to make a clear definition of
Japonisme because of the breadth of the phenomenon, but it could be
generally agreed that it is an attempt to understand and adapt the
essential qualities of Japanese art.
This thesis explores Japanese influences on British Art and will focus on four artists working in Britain: the American James McNeill
Whistler (1834-1903), the Australian Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938), and two artists from the group known as the Glasgow Boys, George Henry (1858-1934) and Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933). Whistler was one of the earliest figures who incorporated Japanese elements in his art but never visited Japan; Menpes visited the country and learned Japanese artistic methods from a Japanese artist; Henry and Hornel visited Japan and responded to Japanese photography mass-produced for foreign market.
The purpose of this thesis is to consider how Western artists understood and accepted Japanese art as a source of inspiration. To
emphasise and support my view that Japanese art was one of the sources of inspiration for the creation of European art, I will also
discuss western influences on Japanese art in the second half of the
nineteenth century since this movement, supported by the Japanese
government, is a good comparison with Japonisme.
The historical background of Japonisme will be discussed in chapter
one with a variety of examples taken from decorative art, paintings and cartoons. These examples have been chosen from the works of
artists who were associated with the Aesthetic Movement and
interested in the improvement of Design, since in the early stages
Japonisme in Britain was developed by leading figures of these
movements. The breadth of the phenomenon is too wide to be
included in any one thesis so theatre, music, architecture, sculpture
or photography are not included.
I will examine the essence of Japonisme by making comparisons between Whistler, Menpes, and Henry and Hornel. For the sake of
consistency in these comparisons, I am going to concentrate on pictorial art. However, Menpes’ studio-house with its Japanese
decoration is also going to be discussed since despite his wish to recreate an authentic Japanese interior, he did not understand the
fundamental basis of Japanese architecture, so that the result was superficial. The artists have been chosen and discussed as follows.
James McNeill Whistler, one of the earliest and most important
figures of Japonisme, is going to be discussed in chapter two as an
example of an artist who had never been to Japan but found profound inspiration in it. He did not simply imitate Japanese art but found
hints and suggestions in it. His own style, as established in his series
of Nocturnes, with their musical titles, shows how he was inspired
visually by Japanese art.
Mortimer Menpes, regarded as one of Whistler’s followers, is going to be
discussed in chapter three as an example of an artist who visited Japan
and received lessons directly from a Japanese artist. He went to Japan in 1887 and in 1896, and he met Kawanabe Kyosai on his first visit to
Japan. He learned Japanese artistic methods and developed his own style by finding a common strand between Western and Japanese
art.
George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel are going to be
discussed in chapter four as examples of artists who went to Japan
and used photographs mass-produced for souvenirs and exports in
Japan. These photographs, of a type now called Yokohama Shashin,
were produced in the late nineteenth century for export or for the
buoyant market in Japan for souvenirs for foreign visitors. Henry
and Hornel acquired them while they were in Japan (1893-94) to aid
their artistic creation.
As one of the means of examining Japonisme, in chapter five I am going to discuss the Western influence on Japanese art, which started in the middle of the nineteenth century. At the time when Europe started to find an inspiration in Japanese art, European civilisation surged into Japan. The opening of Japan was a process of major political, economic and social change that took place rapidly after the arrival of Commodore Perry. As a result, various influences on Japanese life-style, clothing, buildings, education system and
form of government spread into Japan from the west. Adopting
Western science, industrial technology, economic and social systems
was essential for Japan to avoid the colonisation that the other Asian countries had experienced.
Learning Western art was included as a part of the modernisation of
Japan, and eventually, it caused the establishment of Yoga, which
was a new form of art. To examine the essence of Japonisme, it is
useful to discuss Western influences on Japanese art, and the
process of the establishment of Yoga, which eventually was Japanised by the beginning of the twentieth-century.
In conclusion, I am going to summarise these chapters and compare these artists to show that Japanese art and objects were sources of
inspiration, no matter if the artists had been to Japan or no matter if
they had a conscious knowledge of Japonisme.
Acknowledgement
Many thanks are due to many individuals and institutions. I am most grateful to my supervisor Dr. Margaret F. MacDonald
who has been constantly accessible and always ready with advice and encouragement. I would also like to thank to Mr. Paul Stirton who generously gave
me advice throughout three years of my PhD course. I owe a great debt to Dr. Nigel Thorp, the director of the Centre for
Whistler Studies and Dr. Patricia de Montfort and the staff of the Centre for Whistler Studies who always helpfully supported my research. The preparation of this thesis involved many visits to the Broughton
House, the Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, Kelvingrove Museum, the Burrell Collection, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Freer Gallery of Art, Yokohama Museum of Art, Ishibashi Museum of Art and Kume Museum of Art. Special thanks to Mr. Jim Allan, the Hornel Trust’s Librarian and Frances Scott, the Property Manager of Broughton House. In V&A, Anna Jackson of Far Eastern Department generously helped my research and gave me her warm encouragement. In the British Museum, I have received valuable help from Mr. David Penn of Japanese Antiquities. I would like to thank Jean Walsh of the Kelvingrove Museum, Vivien Hamilton of the Burrell Collection, Jennifer Melville of Aberdeen Art Gallery, Kenneth Myers of the Freer Art Gallery, Numata Eiko of Yokohama Art Museum, Mouri Ichirou of Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Yamada Satoshi of Nagoya City Art Museum, Curators of Ishibashi Museum of Art and Ito Fumiko of Kume Museum of Art. I am grateful to Mr. Nick Pearce, the Head of Department of History of Art and the Staff of the Hunterian Art Gallery, especially Mr. Peter Black who always helped me to have access to the prints in their collection. Thanks are also due to the staff of the Special Collection of Glasgow University Library. I would also like to express my special thanks to William Buchanan,
Esther Dunber, Dr. Norman MacDonald, Dr. Frances Fowle, Dr.
Rosemary T. Smith, Mr. Andrew|Stuart -Robertson, Joanna and Ian Meacock, Dr. Flavio Boggi, Mr. Tsunematsu Ikuo, Lucy Clark, Ewan Mundy, Helen Sutherland, Georgia Toutziari, Matsumoto Seiichi, Professor Mabuchi Akiko, Kigi Yasuko, Professor Miyauchi Hisamitsu, Dr. Kazuko Shiojiri and Yoshizawa Kyoko who have supported my research.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents and my sister, and my son, Ryuta.
Contents
Introduction - Japonisme and its Background 8 Japonisme in Britain 19
Mass-Production and Design Improvement 24 Christopher Dresser 25 Arthur Lazenby Liberty 29 Japanese, Medieval and Greek Art:
Burges and Godwin 30 Women and Costume 36 Conclusion 40
Chapter Two: J. McN. Whistler’s Japonisme
Introduction 54 Compositions 56 Japanese Objects and ‘Subjectless Painting’ 68 Nocturnes 84 Conclusion 93
Chapter Three: Mortimer Menpes’s visit to Japan; The Influence of J. McN. Whistler and Kawanabe Kyosai
Introduction 106 Japanese Subjects and Whistler’s Influence 108 25 Cadogan Gardens 114 The Influence of Japanese 123 Conclusion 130
Chapter Four: George Henry & Edward Atkinson Hornel’s visit to Japan and Yokohama Shashin
Introduction 142 Yokohama Shashin 145 Life in Japan 147 Henry’s Japanese Subjects and the use of Photography 153 Hornel’s Japanese Subjects and the use of Photography 157 Conclusion 164
Chapter Five: The Establishment of Yoga as a new Art Form
Introduction 173 The Westernisation of Japanese Art 174
Bansho Shirabesho & Kobu Bijyutu Gakko - European Art as a Technique 176
Mastering Technique and Seeking a Japanese Subject 179 Kuroda Seiki and French Naturalism
as an International Style 183 Hakubakai and the move Towards Academism 188
Composition 190 Conclusion 194
Abbreviations
Glossary
Appendices
A. “The White House”, Tite Street, Chelsea, A Catalogue of the Remaining Household Furniture, Baker & Sons, London, Thursday, 18th September, 1879.
B. Catalogue of the Decorative Porcelain, Cabinet, Paintings, and Other Works of Art of J. A. McN. Whistler, Sotheby, London, 12th February 1880.
C. ‘Tadamasa Hayashi. Some Recollections by Raphael Collin.’ Printed in Illustrated Catalogue of the Important Collection of paintings, Water Colours, Pastels, Drawings and Prints. Collected by the Japanese Connoisseur the Late Tadamasa Hayashi of Tokyo, Japan. New York, 1913.
D. Commodore Perrys [sic] Arrival in Japan. GUL Whistler W749.
E. Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Etchings of Japan by Mortimer Menpes R.B.A. at Messrs Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, London, 1888.
F. Catalogue of the Mortimer Menpes Collection of Etchings, Dry Points and Lithographs, by J. McNeill Whistler. Exhibited at the Leicester Square, London by Ernest Brown & Philips.
November- December, 1903. G. List of works by Mortimer Menpes in
Yokohama Museum of Art. H. Japan by E.A. Hornel, 1895. I. ‘Two Glasgow Artists in Japan - An interview
with Mr. George Henry’, Castle Douglas, July 20, 1894. J. Letter from Captain F. Brinkley to E.A. Hornel.
Dated October 16, 1893.
List of Illustrations
1.’Case of Japanese Articles’ and ‘Japanese Temple, etc/, Illustrated London News, June 4, 1853. Reproduced from Touda Masashiro, Zushou no nakano Chugoku to Nihon, Vilitoria-cho no Oriento Genso (China and Japan in the Illustrations. Illusions of Orient in Victorian Period), Tokyo, 1998, p.60.
2.‘The Japanese Exhibition, in Pall-Mall East’, Illustrated London News, February 4, 1854, p.97.
3.‘The International Exhibition: The Japanese Court’, Illustrated London News, September 20, 1862, p.320.
4.Katsushika Hokusai, An artist standing on back of another man’s back and writing on column, c. 1820. Colour woodcut prints, 34.9 X 6.9 cm. Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums: Art Gallery & Museum. Inv.no. 354. Register no.37/14.
5.Letter from Hayashi Tadamasa to Shinagawa Yajiro. Dated M eiji 20 (1887), January 14, Paris.
6.George Du Maurier, ‘Reading without Tears’, Punch, February 27, 1869, p.80.
7.‘Intellectual Epicures’, Punch, February 5, 1876, p.33. 8.‘The Japanese School at the Royal Academy’, Punch, February 4,
1888, p.50. 9.‘Our Japonneries. No. 10. A Row in the House During “Times v.
Crimes” Debate in Committee’, Punch, August 11, 1888, p.63. 10.‘Our Japonneries. No. 12. Fishing Rod’Rick Dhu About This Time in
Scotland’, Punch, August 25, 1888, p.95. 11.Simeon Solomon, Lady in Chinese Dress with Japanese Fan, 1865.
Watercolour and gouache on paper, 40X35.1 cm. Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
12.Edward John Poynter, A Portrait o f Mary Constance Wyndham, Lady Elcho (later Countess of Wemyss), 1886. Gouache on paper, 52 X34.3 cm. Eare of Wemyss and March, K.T.
13.James Cadenhead, Lady with Japanese Screen and Gold Fish (Portrait of Artst’s Mother), 1886. Oil on canvas, 91.4X 185.4 cm. City of Edinburgh Art Centre.
14.Kate Hayllar, Sunflower and Hollyhocks, 1889. Watercolour, 31.7 X 22.8 cm. The Corporation of London, Guildhall Art Gallery.
15.Hukin & Heath solid silver tea and coffee sets with incised Japanese crest decorations. Marked ‘Designed by Dr. C. Dresser’. 26 March 1879. 12.7-22.9 cm high. Private Collection.
16.Japanese family crest, M arui n i Mistsuaoi. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p. 12.
17.Japanese family crest, Andou Fuji. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p. 120.
18.Japanese family crest, Chuwa n i Tachiaoi. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p.15.
19.E.W. Godwin, Sideboard, ca.1867. Made by William Watt. Ebonized mahogany, silver plated fittings ebonised Japanese leather paper inserts; 178 X 162 X 56 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, circ.38-1953..
20.E.W. Godwin, A table with folding shelves, ca.1872. Probably made by Collinson and Lock. Walnut with gilt brass fittings; 74.7 X 40.6 X 81.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Roger Fund, 1991.
21. Cutaway drawing of main room in shoin building. Illustrated in Penelope Mason, History o f Japanese Art, New York, 1993, p.214.
22.E.W. Godwin, Cabinet known as the ‘Four Seasons Cabinet’, ca.1887. Probably made by William Watt. Satinwood with painted and gilt panels, ivory handles, and brass fittings, 177.8 X 128.3 X 40.6 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, W15-1972.
23.E.W. Godwin, ‘Peacock’, wallpaper, ca.1873. Made by Jeffrey and Company. Block-printed wallpaper; 67.2X48.9 cm. Manchester City Art Galleries, 1934.22/19iii.
24.Torii Kiyonaga, M inami Juni-ko (Twelve Months in the South), 1874. Colour woodblock, 37.3X50.8 cm. British Museum, London. Presented by Birnie Philip, in memory of her sister, Mrs. Beatrix McNeill Whistler.
25.E.W. Godwin, ‘Butterfly’ Brocade, ca.1874. Made by Warner, Sillett and Ramm. Jacquard woven silk; 86.5 X 55 cm. Trustees of the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, T. 152-1972. 26.E.W. Godwin, Designs for ceiling wallpapers. From William Watt,
A rt Furniture (1877), pl.9. The Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection, The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, TD1990.40.62.
27.Mosaic arrangement from a catalogue of Medieval Lead-Glazed Earthenware Tiles in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities British Museum. Cat. No. LX. Scale 1:4.
28.E.W. Godwin, Japanese woman in kimono, from a sketch book dated from June 1884 to 23 June 1885. Size of volume 15.2X8.9 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, E.269-1963.
29.Ellen Terry wearing kimono, ca.1874. Photographed by Samuel Walker. Collection of the National Trust, Ellen Terry Memorial Museum, Smallhythe Palace, Kent.
30.Edy, daughter of E.W. Godwin and Ellen Terry, ca.1874. Collection of the National Trust, Ellen Terry Memorial Museum, Smallhythe Palace, Kent.
31.A. Moore, Azaleas, 1868. Oil on canvas, 198.I X 100.3 cm. The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland.
32.A. Moore, Beads, 1875. Oil on canvas, 29.8X51.4 cm. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
33.Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon. A Tragedy. Published in London, 1865, 22.3 X 17.5 cm. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
34.J. McN. Whistler, The Pool, K.43, 1859. Etching, 13.8X21.3 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
35.J. McN. Whistler, The Punt, K.85, 1861. Etching, 11.8X16.2 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
36. Suzuki Harunobu, Hasuike Funa asobi (Women in a boat, picking lotus flowers), ca.1765. Colour woodcut, 19.9X27.2 cm. Tokyo National Museum.
37.Hiroshige, Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro (Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine) from Meisho Edo H yakkei (One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo,), 1856-58. Colour woodcut, 35.3X24 cm. Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne.
38.Edouard Manet, En Bateau, 1874. Oil on canvas, 97 X 130 cm.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
39.Claude Monet, En barque, 1887. Oil on canvas, 145X 132 cm. National Western Art Museum, Tokyo.
40. J. McN. Whistler, The Kitchen, K.24, 1858. Etching, 22.7X15.6 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
41.P. De Hooch, The Courtyard o f a House in Delft, 1658. Oil on canvas, 73.5X60.0 cm. National Gallery, London.
42. J. McN. Whistler, A t the Piano, YMSM 24, 1858-59. Oil on canvas, 67X91.6 cm. The Taft Museum, Cincinnatti, Ohio.
43. J. McN. Whistler, Symphony in White No.2: L ittle White Girl, YMSM 52, 1864. Oil on canvas, 76.5X51.1 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
44.J. McN. Whistler, Variation in Flesh Colour and Green: The Balcony; YMSM 56, 1867-68. Oil on wood, 61.4X48.8 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
45.J. McN. Whistler, Harmony in Grey and Green: M iss Cicely Alexander, YMSM 129, 1872-74. Oil on canvas, 190.2X97.8 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
46. J. McN. Whistler, Pink and Grey: Three Figures, YMSM 89, 1879. Oil on canvas, 139.1 X 185.4 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
47.J. McN. Whistler, The White Symphony: Three Girls, YMSM 87, ca.1868. Oil on millboard, 46.4X61.6 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
48. J .McN. Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait o f the Painter's Mother, YMSM 101, 1871. Oil on canvas, 144.3 X 162.5 cm. Musee d’Orsay, Paris.
49. J. McN. Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black, No.2: Portrait o f Thomas Carlyle, YMSM 137, 1872-3. Oil on canvas, 171.1 X 143.5 cm. Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery, Kelvingrove.
50. Urasenke X V Soshitsu Sen, Kyoto, Architect’s drawing of the Japanese Tea House in the Englisches Garten, Munich, 1971-72. Area: 24% tatami, c.l08sq.,m. Illustrated in Siegfried Wichimann, Japonisme. The Japanese influence on Western art since 1858, London, 1999, pp.358-359.
51 .Katsura Rikyu (Katsura Palace), Kyoto, 17th century. 52.Utamaro, Komei bijinmitate Chushingura junim ai tsuzuki
(Chushingura drama parodied by famous beauties: a set of Twelve prints) act 11, ca.1795. Woodblock print, 38.7X25.7 cm. Publisher:
iv
Oumiya. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 53.Torii Kiyonaga, Three women look into a snow covered garden,
ca.1876. Colour woodcut, 37.5 X 25.5 cm . Berlin, Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst.
54. J. McN. Whistler, Harmony in Green and Rose: The Music Room, YMSM 34, 1860-61. Oil on canvas, 95.5 X 70.8 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
55. J. McN. Whistler, Wapping, YMSM 35, 1860-64. Oil on canvas, 71.1 X 101.6 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
56.J. McN. Whistler, Rotherhithe, K.66, 1860. Etching and drypoint printed in black ink on cream Japan paper, 27.5 X 19.9 cm. S.P. Avery Collection, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation.
57.Eishi, Sumidagawa Ogiya no zashiki (Ogiya at the Sumida River), cetre panel, ca. 1790-92. Colour woodcut. Oban size. Reproduced in t. Watanabe, ‘Eishi Prints in Whistler’s Studio? Eighteenth-century Japanese prints in the West before 1870’, Burlington Magazine, CXXVIII, no. 1005, December, 1986, p.877.
58. J. McN. Whistler, La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine, YMSM 50, 1864. Oil on canvas, 199.9 X 116.0 cm . Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
59. J. McN. Whistler, Caprice in Purple…
E.A. Hornel and nineteenth century Japan.
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History of Art, University of Glasgow.
By Ayako Ono
© Ayako Ono 2001
ProQuest Number: 13818783
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is d e p e n d e n t u p on the quality of the co p y subm itted .
In the unlikely e v e n t that the author did not send a c o m p le te m anuscript and there are missing p a g e s , th ese will be n o te d . Also, if m aterial had to be rem o v ed ,
a n o te will in d ica te the d e le tio n .
uest ProQ uest 13818783
Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
All rights reserved. This work is protected a g a in st unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C o d e
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346
GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
122%'Cop7 I
Abstract
Japan held a profound fascination for Western artists in the latter
half of the nineteenth century. The influence of Japanese art is a
phenomenon that is now called Japonisme, and it spread widely
throughout Western art. It is quite hard to make a clear definition of
Japonisme because of the breadth of the phenomenon, but it could be
generally agreed that it is an attempt to understand and adapt the
essential qualities of Japanese art.
This thesis explores Japanese influences on British Art and will focus on four artists working in Britain: the American James McNeill
Whistler (1834-1903), the Australian Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938), and two artists from the group known as the Glasgow Boys, George Henry (1858-1934) and Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933). Whistler was one of the earliest figures who incorporated Japanese elements in his art but never visited Japan; Menpes visited the country and learned Japanese artistic methods from a Japanese artist; Henry and Hornel visited Japan and responded to Japanese photography mass-produced for foreign market.
The purpose of this thesis is to consider how Western artists understood and accepted Japanese art as a source of inspiration. To
emphasise and support my view that Japanese art was one of the sources of inspiration for the creation of European art, I will also
discuss western influences on Japanese art in the second half of the
nineteenth century since this movement, supported by the Japanese
government, is a good comparison with Japonisme.
The historical background of Japonisme will be discussed in chapter
one with a variety of examples taken from decorative art, paintings and cartoons. These examples have been chosen from the works of
artists who were associated with the Aesthetic Movement and
interested in the improvement of Design, since in the early stages
Japonisme in Britain was developed by leading figures of these
movements. The breadth of the phenomenon is too wide to be
included in any one thesis so theatre, music, architecture, sculpture
or photography are not included.
I will examine the essence of Japonisme by making comparisons between Whistler, Menpes, and Henry and Hornel. For the sake of
consistency in these comparisons, I am going to concentrate on pictorial art. However, Menpes’ studio-house with its Japanese
decoration is also going to be discussed since despite his wish to recreate an authentic Japanese interior, he did not understand the
fundamental basis of Japanese architecture, so that the result was superficial. The artists have been chosen and discussed as follows.
James McNeill Whistler, one of the earliest and most important
figures of Japonisme, is going to be discussed in chapter two as an
example of an artist who had never been to Japan but found profound inspiration in it. He did not simply imitate Japanese art but found
hints and suggestions in it. His own style, as established in his series
of Nocturnes, with their musical titles, shows how he was inspired
visually by Japanese art.
Mortimer Menpes, regarded as one of Whistler’s followers, is going to be
discussed in chapter three as an example of an artist who visited Japan
and received lessons directly from a Japanese artist. He went to Japan in 1887 and in 1896, and he met Kawanabe Kyosai on his first visit to
Japan. He learned Japanese artistic methods and developed his own style by finding a common strand between Western and Japanese
art.
George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel are going to be
discussed in chapter four as examples of artists who went to Japan
and used photographs mass-produced for souvenirs and exports in
Japan. These photographs, of a type now called Yokohama Shashin,
were produced in the late nineteenth century for export or for the
buoyant market in Japan for souvenirs for foreign visitors. Henry
and Hornel acquired them while they were in Japan (1893-94) to aid
their artistic creation.
As one of the means of examining Japonisme, in chapter five I am going to discuss the Western influence on Japanese art, which started in the middle of the nineteenth century. At the time when Europe started to find an inspiration in Japanese art, European civilisation surged into Japan. The opening of Japan was a process of major political, economic and social change that took place rapidly after the arrival of Commodore Perry. As a result, various influences on Japanese life-style, clothing, buildings, education system and
form of government spread into Japan from the west. Adopting
Western science, industrial technology, economic and social systems
was essential for Japan to avoid the colonisation that the other Asian countries had experienced.
Learning Western art was included as a part of the modernisation of
Japan, and eventually, it caused the establishment of Yoga, which
was a new form of art. To examine the essence of Japonisme, it is
useful to discuss Western influences on Japanese art, and the
process of the establishment of Yoga, which eventually was Japanised by the beginning of the twentieth-century.
In conclusion, I am going to summarise these chapters and compare these artists to show that Japanese art and objects were sources of
inspiration, no matter if the artists had been to Japan or no matter if
they had a conscious knowledge of Japonisme.
Acknowledgement
Many thanks are due to many individuals and institutions. I am most grateful to my supervisor Dr. Margaret F. MacDonald
who has been constantly accessible and always ready with advice and encouragement. I would also like to thank to Mr. Paul Stirton who generously gave
me advice throughout three years of my PhD course. I owe a great debt to Dr. Nigel Thorp, the director of the Centre for
Whistler Studies and Dr. Patricia de Montfort and the staff of the Centre for Whistler Studies who always helpfully supported my research. The preparation of this thesis involved many visits to the Broughton
House, the Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, Kelvingrove Museum, the Burrell Collection, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Freer Gallery of Art, Yokohama Museum of Art, Ishibashi Museum of Art and Kume Museum of Art. Special thanks to Mr. Jim Allan, the Hornel Trust’s Librarian and Frances Scott, the Property Manager of Broughton House. In V&A, Anna Jackson of Far Eastern Department generously helped my research and gave me her warm encouragement. In the British Museum, I have received valuable help from Mr. David Penn of Japanese Antiquities. I would like to thank Jean Walsh of the Kelvingrove Museum, Vivien Hamilton of the Burrell Collection, Jennifer Melville of Aberdeen Art Gallery, Kenneth Myers of the Freer Art Gallery, Numata Eiko of Yokohama Art Museum, Mouri Ichirou of Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Yamada Satoshi of Nagoya City Art Museum, Curators of Ishibashi Museum of Art and Ito Fumiko of Kume Museum of Art. I am grateful to Mr. Nick Pearce, the Head of Department of History of Art and the Staff of the Hunterian Art Gallery, especially Mr. Peter Black who always helped me to have access to the prints in their collection. Thanks are also due to the staff of the Special Collection of Glasgow University Library. I would also like to express my special thanks to William Buchanan,
Esther Dunber, Dr. Norman MacDonald, Dr. Frances Fowle, Dr.
Rosemary T. Smith, Mr. Andrew|Stuart -Robertson, Joanna and Ian Meacock, Dr. Flavio Boggi, Mr. Tsunematsu Ikuo, Lucy Clark, Ewan Mundy, Helen Sutherland, Georgia Toutziari, Matsumoto Seiichi, Professor Mabuchi Akiko, Kigi Yasuko, Professor Miyauchi Hisamitsu, Dr. Kazuko Shiojiri and Yoshizawa Kyoko who have supported my research.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents and my sister, and my son, Ryuta.
Contents
Introduction - Japonisme and its Background 8 Japonisme in Britain 19
Mass-Production and Design Improvement 24 Christopher Dresser 25 Arthur Lazenby Liberty 29 Japanese, Medieval and Greek Art:
Burges and Godwin 30 Women and Costume 36 Conclusion 40
Chapter Two: J. McN. Whistler’s Japonisme
Introduction 54 Compositions 56 Japanese Objects and ‘Subjectless Painting’ 68 Nocturnes 84 Conclusion 93
Chapter Three: Mortimer Menpes’s visit to Japan; The Influence of J. McN. Whistler and Kawanabe Kyosai
Introduction 106 Japanese Subjects and Whistler’s Influence 108 25 Cadogan Gardens 114 The Influence of Japanese 123 Conclusion 130
Chapter Four: George Henry & Edward Atkinson Hornel’s visit to Japan and Yokohama Shashin
Introduction 142 Yokohama Shashin 145 Life in Japan 147 Henry’s Japanese Subjects and the use of Photography 153 Hornel’s Japanese Subjects and the use of Photography 157 Conclusion 164
Chapter Five: The Establishment of Yoga as a new Art Form
Introduction 173 The Westernisation of Japanese Art 174
Bansho Shirabesho & Kobu Bijyutu Gakko - European Art as a Technique 176
Mastering Technique and Seeking a Japanese Subject 179 Kuroda Seiki and French Naturalism
as an International Style 183 Hakubakai and the move Towards Academism 188
Composition 190 Conclusion 194
Abbreviations
Glossary
Appendices
A. “The White House”, Tite Street, Chelsea, A Catalogue of the Remaining Household Furniture, Baker & Sons, London, Thursday, 18th September, 1879.
B. Catalogue of the Decorative Porcelain, Cabinet, Paintings, and Other Works of Art of J. A. McN. Whistler, Sotheby, London, 12th February 1880.
C. ‘Tadamasa Hayashi. Some Recollections by Raphael Collin.’ Printed in Illustrated Catalogue of the Important Collection of paintings, Water Colours, Pastels, Drawings and Prints. Collected by the Japanese Connoisseur the Late Tadamasa Hayashi of Tokyo, Japan. New York, 1913.
D. Commodore Perrys [sic] Arrival in Japan. GUL Whistler W749.
E. Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Etchings of Japan by Mortimer Menpes R.B.A. at Messrs Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, London, 1888.
F. Catalogue of the Mortimer Menpes Collection of Etchings, Dry Points and Lithographs, by J. McNeill Whistler. Exhibited at the Leicester Square, London by Ernest Brown & Philips.
November- December, 1903. G. List of works by Mortimer Menpes in
Yokohama Museum of Art. H. Japan by E.A. Hornel, 1895. I. ‘Two Glasgow Artists in Japan - An interview
with Mr. George Henry’, Castle Douglas, July 20, 1894. J. Letter from Captain F. Brinkley to E.A. Hornel.
Dated October 16, 1893.
List of Illustrations
1.’Case of Japanese Articles’ and ‘Japanese Temple, etc/, Illustrated London News, June 4, 1853. Reproduced from Touda Masashiro, Zushou no nakano Chugoku to Nihon, Vilitoria-cho no Oriento Genso (China and Japan in the Illustrations. Illusions of Orient in Victorian Period), Tokyo, 1998, p.60.
2.‘The Japanese Exhibition, in Pall-Mall East’, Illustrated London News, February 4, 1854, p.97.
3.‘The International Exhibition: The Japanese Court’, Illustrated London News, September 20, 1862, p.320.
4.Katsushika Hokusai, An artist standing on back of another man’s back and writing on column, c. 1820. Colour woodcut prints, 34.9 X 6.9 cm. Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums: Art Gallery & Museum. Inv.no. 354. Register no.37/14.
5.Letter from Hayashi Tadamasa to Shinagawa Yajiro. Dated M eiji 20 (1887), January 14, Paris.
6.George Du Maurier, ‘Reading without Tears’, Punch, February 27, 1869, p.80.
7.‘Intellectual Epicures’, Punch, February 5, 1876, p.33. 8.‘The Japanese School at the Royal Academy’, Punch, February 4,
1888, p.50. 9.‘Our Japonneries. No. 10. A Row in the House During “Times v.
Crimes” Debate in Committee’, Punch, August 11, 1888, p.63. 10.‘Our Japonneries. No. 12. Fishing Rod’Rick Dhu About This Time in
Scotland’, Punch, August 25, 1888, p.95. 11.Simeon Solomon, Lady in Chinese Dress with Japanese Fan, 1865.
Watercolour and gouache on paper, 40X35.1 cm. Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
12.Edward John Poynter, A Portrait o f Mary Constance Wyndham, Lady Elcho (later Countess of Wemyss), 1886. Gouache on paper, 52 X34.3 cm. Eare of Wemyss and March, K.T.
13.James Cadenhead, Lady with Japanese Screen and Gold Fish (Portrait of Artst’s Mother), 1886. Oil on canvas, 91.4X 185.4 cm. City of Edinburgh Art Centre.
14.Kate Hayllar, Sunflower and Hollyhocks, 1889. Watercolour, 31.7 X 22.8 cm. The Corporation of London, Guildhall Art Gallery.
15.Hukin & Heath solid silver tea and coffee sets with incised Japanese crest decorations. Marked ‘Designed by Dr. C. Dresser’. 26 March 1879. 12.7-22.9 cm high. Private Collection.
16.Japanese family crest, M arui n i Mistsuaoi. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p. 12.
17.Japanese family crest, Andou Fuji. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p. 120.
18.Japanese family crest, Chuwa n i Tachiaoi. Reproduced from S. Honda, Kamon Daizen (The Complete Family Marks), Tokyo, 1997, p.15.
19.E.W. Godwin, Sideboard, ca.1867. Made by William Watt. Ebonized mahogany, silver plated fittings ebonised Japanese leather paper inserts; 178 X 162 X 56 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, circ.38-1953..
20.E.W. Godwin, A table with folding shelves, ca.1872. Probably made by Collinson and Lock. Walnut with gilt brass fittings; 74.7 X 40.6 X 81.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Roger Fund, 1991.
21. Cutaway drawing of main room in shoin building. Illustrated in Penelope Mason, History o f Japanese Art, New York, 1993, p.214.
22.E.W. Godwin, Cabinet known as the ‘Four Seasons Cabinet’, ca.1887. Probably made by William Watt. Satinwood with painted and gilt panels, ivory handles, and brass fittings, 177.8 X 128.3 X 40.6 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, W15-1972.
23.E.W. Godwin, ‘Peacock’, wallpaper, ca.1873. Made by Jeffrey and Company. Block-printed wallpaper; 67.2X48.9 cm. Manchester City Art Galleries, 1934.22/19iii.
24.Torii Kiyonaga, M inami Juni-ko (Twelve Months in the South), 1874. Colour woodblock, 37.3X50.8 cm. British Museum, London. Presented by Birnie Philip, in memory of her sister, Mrs. Beatrix McNeill Whistler.
25.E.W. Godwin, ‘Butterfly’ Brocade, ca.1874. Made by Warner, Sillett and Ramm. Jacquard woven silk; 86.5 X 55 cm. Trustees of the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, T. 152-1972. 26.E.W. Godwin, Designs for ceiling wallpapers. From William Watt,
A rt Furniture (1877), pl.9. The Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection, The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, TD1990.40.62.
27.Mosaic arrangement from a catalogue of Medieval Lead-Glazed Earthenware Tiles in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities British Museum. Cat. No. LX. Scale 1:4.
28.E.W. Godwin, Japanese woman in kimono, from a sketch book dated from June 1884 to 23 June 1885. Size of volume 15.2X8.9 cm. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, E.269-1963.
29.Ellen Terry wearing kimono, ca.1874. Photographed by Samuel Walker. Collection of the National Trust, Ellen Terry Memorial Museum, Smallhythe Palace, Kent.
30.Edy, daughter of E.W. Godwin and Ellen Terry, ca.1874. Collection of the National Trust, Ellen Terry Memorial Museum, Smallhythe Palace, Kent.
31.A. Moore, Azaleas, 1868. Oil on canvas, 198.I X 100.3 cm. The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland.
32.A. Moore, Beads, 1875. Oil on canvas, 29.8X51.4 cm. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
33.Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon. A Tragedy. Published in London, 1865, 22.3 X 17.5 cm. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
34.J. McN. Whistler, The Pool, K.43, 1859. Etching, 13.8X21.3 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
35.J. McN. Whistler, The Punt, K.85, 1861. Etching, 11.8X16.2 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
36. Suzuki Harunobu, Hasuike Funa asobi (Women in a boat, picking lotus flowers), ca.1765. Colour woodcut, 19.9X27.2 cm. Tokyo National Museum.
37.Hiroshige, Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro (Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine) from Meisho Edo H yakkei (One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo,), 1856-58. Colour woodcut, 35.3X24 cm. Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne.
38.Edouard Manet, En Bateau, 1874. Oil on canvas, 97 X 130 cm.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
39.Claude Monet, En barque, 1887. Oil on canvas, 145X 132 cm. National Western Art Museum, Tokyo.
40. J. McN. Whistler, The Kitchen, K.24, 1858. Etching, 22.7X15.6 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
41.P. De Hooch, The Courtyard o f a House in Delft, 1658. Oil on canvas, 73.5X60.0 cm. National Gallery, London.
42. J. McN. Whistler, A t the Piano, YMSM 24, 1858-59. Oil on canvas, 67X91.6 cm. The Taft Museum, Cincinnatti, Ohio.
43. J. McN. Whistler, Symphony in White No.2: L ittle White Girl, YMSM 52, 1864. Oil on canvas, 76.5X51.1 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
44.J. McN. Whistler, Variation in Flesh Colour and Green: The Balcony; YMSM 56, 1867-68. Oil on wood, 61.4X48.8 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
45.J. McN. Whistler, Harmony in Grey and Green: M iss Cicely Alexander, YMSM 129, 1872-74. Oil on canvas, 190.2X97.8 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
46. J. McN. Whistler, Pink and Grey: Three Figures, YMSM 89, 1879. Oil on canvas, 139.1 X 185.4 cm. Tate Gallery, London.
47.J. McN. Whistler, The White Symphony: Three Girls, YMSM 87, ca.1868. Oil on millboard, 46.4X61.6 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
48. J .McN. Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait o f the Painter's Mother, YMSM 101, 1871. Oil on canvas, 144.3 X 162.5 cm. Musee d’Orsay, Paris.
49. J. McN. Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black, No.2: Portrait o f Thomas Carlyle, YMSM 137, 1872-3. Oil on canvas, 171.1 X 143.5 cm. Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery, Kelvingrove.
50. Urasenke X V Soshitsu Sen, Kyoto, Architect’s drawing of the Japanese Tea House in the Englisches Garten, Munich, 1971-72. Area: 24% tatami, c.l08sq.,m. Illustrated in Siegfried Wichimann, Japonisme. The Japanese influence on Western art since 1858, London, 1999, pp.358-359.
51 .Katsura Rikyu (Katsura Palace), Kyoto, 17th century. 52.Utamaro, Komei bijinmitate Chushingura junim ai tsuzuki
(Chushingura drama parodied by famous beauties: a set of Twelve prints) act 11, ca.1795. Woodblock print, 38.7X25.7 cm. Publisher:
iv
Oumiya. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 53.Torii Kiyonaga, Three women look into a snow covered garden,
ca.1876. Colour woodcut, 37.5 X 25.5 cm . Berlin, Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst.
54. J. McN. Whistler, Harmony in Green and Rose: The Music Room, YMSM 34, 1860-61. Oil on canvas, 95.5 X 70.8 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
55. J. McN. Whistler, Wapping, YMSM 35, 1860-64. Oil on canvas, 71.1 X 101.6 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
56.J. McN. Whistler, Rotherhithe, K.66, 1860. Etching and drypoint printed in black ink on cream Japan paper, 27.5 X 19.9 cm. S.P. Avery Collection, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation.
57.Eishi, Sumidagawa Ogiya no zashiki (Ogiya at the Sumida River), cetre panel, ca. 1790-92. Colour woodcut. Oban size. Reproduced in t. Watanabe, ‘Eishi Prints in Whistler’s Studio? Eighteenth-century Japanese prints in the West before 1870’, Burlington Magazine, CXXVIII, no. 1005, December, 1986, p.877.
58. J. McN. Whistler, La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine, YMSM 50, 1864. Oil on canvas, 199.9 X 116.0 cm . Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
59. J. McN. Whistler, Caprice in Purple…
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