Did Van Gogh get inspiration from Japan?

Vincent van Gogh was not only a big fan of Japanese woodblock prints by Hiroshige, but he also liked the Japanese lifestyle and view on the world very much.

Today 133 years ago, on 14 September 1888,

Vincent van Gogh wrote to his sister Willemien van Gogh from Arles:

"You know that the Japanese instinctively look for contrasts, and eat sweetened peppers, salty sweets, and fried ices and frozen fried dishes. So, too, following the same system you should probably only put very small paintings in a large room, but in a very small room you’ll put a lot of big ones."

left:

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake (1857)
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)
Tokyo (Edo) 1857
Woodblock print: ink and color on paper

right:

Bridge in the Rain
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
Paris, October-November 1887
Oil on canvas
73.3 cm x 53.8 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

You may also like to read:

• Who inspired Van Gogh most?

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake (1857) by Hiroshige and Bridge in the Rain by Vincent van Gogh.

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