Protective of its culture and economy, Japan kept its borders closed to outsiders for centuries. Too tempting a morsel, it was forced militarily to open up in the mid-19th century. The west’s fascination with Japan exploded, and Japanese artists found a way to introduce some occidental elements into their traditional art.
This exhibit examines a panorama of masterpieces that allow us to understand that unique moment in art history in which the evocative nature and artistic influences of the orient penetrated so deeply into occidental art that it even modified its very foundations, creating a hybrid rich with meaning and new styles.
Beginning with Impressionism, ever more artists looked to the orient, creating a new art in which colors flattened, in which the traditional occidental one-point perspective ceded its place to new spatial solutions and in which decorative elements were more and more marked. European artists such as Manet, Monet, van Gogh, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pisarro, and Klimt, as well as Italian artists such as Fattori, De Nittis, Giovanni Boldini and Segantini were fascinated by Japanese prints – including those by such noted artists as Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro – to such an extent that they introduced oriental influences into their own art.
Comparing and contrasting European and Japanese works, this exhibit makes it possible to appreciate the two areas’ direct encounter and dialogues in a lively exchange of differences and affinities, giving life to one of the most prolific and interesting instances of syncretism that occidental art had ever seen.
WHAT: visit (in Italian), exhibit “Sogni d’Oriente”
WHEN: Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 2:45 PM
WHERE: MUDEC, via Tortona, 56
HOW MUCH: €25.00
–Activities are open to members in good standing of the Friends of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Association and its volunteers active in the museum. To join the association, see below.
–Activities may be cancelled, if the minimum number of participants is not reached.
–To confirm one’s participation, it is necessary to pay the fee by the 13th of December.
For information about the activity and about joining the association:
+39 02 7600 6132