Japanese art and French art, Louvre Abu Dhabi opens fall season with exhibition

From Sept. 6 to Nov. 24, 2018, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is hosting the exhibition Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Décor: the show opens the fall 2018 season of the Emirati “branch” of the great French museum. Curated by Isabelle Cahn, Chief Conservator of Paintings at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the exhibition, all dedicated to Japanese art, displays paintings, prints, and panels from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to highlight the relationship between Japan and France in the arts (many, at the time, were French artists who were fascinated by Japanese art) with particular emphasis on the aesthetics of ukiyo-e, the genre that flourished in Japan between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries (it is a particular type of print on paper imprinted with wooden blocks).

In fact, works belonging to Paul Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Édouard Vuillard, Odilon Redon, Katsushika Hokusai, Hara Zaimei, Utagawa Hiroshige, Kano Tanshin, and Toshusai Sharaku will be on display. Japanese works include Clear Day with the South Wind from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series (1831-32) and Yôrô Waterfalls in Mino Province (1830-1834) by Katsushika Hokusai, the most famous ukiyo-e master, and Utagawa Hiroshige’s Tôto Sumida tsutumi (1858). Among French works we will find Édouard Vuillard’s Public Gardens (1894), Pierre Bonnard’s screen La Promenade des nourrices, frise de fiacres (1897). Les Femmes au Printemps (1899) by Paul Sérusier and a four-sided screen by Marguerite Sérusier. The exhibition is divided into four sections, with 41 works and 15 documents by 12 artists.

“The ethos of the Louvre Abu Dhabi,” said Manuel Rabaté, director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, "celebrates cultural connection, dialogue and exchange, and this approach is intrinsic to our curating through both permanent galleries and international exhibitions. Japanese Connections will shed light on a significant moment of exchange and inspiration; these moments open our eyes to the interconnected history of human societies, nurturing shared understanding."

Isabelle Cahn, on the other hand, says, "Gathering this exceptional selection of works, Japanese Connections exalts the fundamental contribution that Japanese aesthetics made to the development of the decorative principles of modern painting in France in the late 19th century. Presented for the first time in an exhibition, this dialogue between East and West celebrates the cross-cultural creativity and inspiration between ukiyo-e artists and Nabis painters through colorful, vibrant and refined expression."

The exhibition program also includes lectures and the “Big in Japan” festival on Oct. 26 and 27, with music, public readings, screenings of Studio Ghibli animated films and even Japanese cooking classes, and there will also be no shortage of a Manga Lab dedicated to children who can experience Japanese comics up close with ad hoc lectures and other initiatives.

Ph. Credit Agency MNA

Japanese art and French art, Louvre Abu Dhabi opens fall season with exhibition

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