Markéta Hánová
Published: 2014
Total Pages: 268
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Japonisme in Czech art' explores Japonaiseries that emulated original Japanese objects (on view in this exhibition alongside the imitative art, in recognition of the art collecting tradition in the Czech lands), while also examining new examples of Czech modern art inspired by Japanese art, with echoes of the Japanese artistic idiom (such as composition, formal simplicity and decorativeness). The exhibition reflects artists’ diverse notions related to Japanese art and culture, but also their actual journeys to real Japan. In the context of Czech art, Japonisme developed on various, contrasting levels: as reflections of Japanese craftsmanship and the art’s decorative vocabulary, as individual creative achievements, and as an art form that inspired a culturally-varied art community characterized by linguistic and national diversity. At first, artists strove to imitate original works with the intention of improving the aesthetic and formal qualities of art objects and to evoke the exotic aura of Japan (these endeavours are referred to as Japonaiseries). In the Czech lands, the phenomenon of Japonisme came to the forefront only with the onset of the Art Nouveau movement in the 1890s.00Exhibition: National Gallery of Art, Prague, Czech Republic (16.05-07.09.2014).
