Van Gogh and Japanese influence

In the mid to late 1800s Japanese art became very popular in Europe. This was primarily through their paintings and wood block prints that found their way into European culture, after Japan re-opened trade with the west.



This influenced writers and artists alike, perhaps none more so than Van Gogh. The bright contrasting colours, bold outlines, elegant and simple lines, and flat-ness, all became huge elements of Van Gogh’s style.

It’s all about perspective

Perspective had been a huge problem for Van Gogh. He used to tape perspective markers, starting in the centre and then working out to the edges, on to the canvas he was painting to keep it as true as he could.

There was a pressure to paint in a realistic way, even though obviously Van Gogh’s style and philosophy was not interested in realism, much more so in mood. After he discovered Japanese art, this freed his style, and he was able to create more confidently after discovering that often the Japanese paintings and woodblocks did not use shadow at all.

This was the final piece of the puzzle, Van Gogh could throw perspective out of the window and embrace his own unique approach.

Romanticism

Rightly or wrongly Van Gogh believed that Japanese culture was much more connected to nature, and for that much wiser, and happier than their European counterparts, whom he believed were too obsessed with intellect and theories of living.

He never visited Japan, and so his opinion was always slightly romantic, but this romanticism was invested into his painting style, and was of course a part of his own essence.

Beautifully incorrect

Not only was Van Gogh heavily inspired, he went a step further and copied some of the prints and wood-blocks he had access to.

These artworks have become widely popular, and show his tendency to push reality further than the originals, when compared you can see Van Gogh’s colors are brighter, the contrast larger, the perspectives more beautifully ‘incorrect’.

Here at Van Gogh Studio we offer Van Gogh’s Japanese reproductions like: Japonaiserie, Bridge in the Rain and The Flowering Plum Tree