Japanese fantasies in the time of Félicien Rops
If there is one country that has fascinated artists and audiences since the 19th century, it is Japan. Closed to the West around 1639, the land of the rising sun was forced to open its borders under American pressure in 1853 and sign several trade treaties with European nations in the late 1850s. Discovering Western modernity, Japan then underwent a period of upheaval during which the country gradually abandoned its traditions and feudal system to become one of the most advanced nations of the time. This transition from the Edo period (1603-1868) to the Meiji period (1868-1912) was accompanied by intense trade with Europe. Japanese trinkets and ukiyo-e prints, symbols of a bygone era, were sent halfway across the world to the delight of European merchants and collectors.
In the space of nearly 20 years, the wave of Japonism – a term coined by Philippe Burty in 1872 – swept across France and its neighbours. Far from inspiring only the most renowned writers and collectors, Japanese art also aroused the curiosity of artists. Fascinated by the philosophy of the ukiyo-e school, the bright colours, unusual compositions and exotic iconography of Japanese prints, many painters, draughtsmen and engravers, in search of artistic renewal, found new models and avenues of reflection for their art in the work of Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kitagawa Utamaro, to name only the most influential.
Like his colleagues, Félicien Rops did not escape Japanese influence. Settling permanently in Paris in 1874, the Namur artist rubbed shoulders with Japanese circles and events for much of his career. Rops dreamed of Japan… and at the same time, defended himself against it. He created, yet criticised and condemned, what he called ‘Japoniaiseries’, a portmanteau word combining “Japan” and ‘niaseries’ (nonsense) invented by one of his acquaintances, the writer Champfleury.
Exploring this ambiguity, the exhibition will take over the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibition spaces to present the Japanese influences in Félicien Rops’ art: from the introduction of Japanese motifs to the assimilation of Japanese artistic principles and methods into his own modernity. It will trace the artist’s Japanese-inspired network, whether artistic or familial, French or Belgian, and show how Rops gradually adopted the spirit of ukiyo-e and drew inspiration, directly or indirectly, from the greatest Japanese artists of the Edo period.
Félicien Rops’ works will be exhibited alongside other Japonist productions from the 19th century, notably those cited – praised or criticised – by the artist or produced by his acquaintances (Ensor, Manet, Rassenfosse, Rodin, Stevens, etc.). Several Japanese prints and objects from the Edo and Meiji periods, which were once sources of inspiration for painters, draughtsmen and engravers, will also be on display, as well as several “pop culture” productions, in order to show how certain iconographic themes have been reused throughout art and history, from the Japanese masters to the present day, via Rops and his circle.
Musée Provincial Félicien Rops, Rue Fumal, Namur, Belgique
