Palpable Freedom in Claude Monet’s Giverny Home: The Visible and Obscure Manifestations of Japonisme
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
The latter half of the nineteenth century in France saw a rise of interest in Japanese culture which visually manifested itself in western art in a variety of ways. Claude Monet was one of the artists fascinated by the new aesthetics. The influence of Japanese art on Monet’s paintings has been well documented, especially when considering his lush blue and green paintings from the garden of Giverny. However, scholars have not considered the multiple other ways that Japanese art and culture provided an escape for Monet. This paper examines the avant-garde interior of the Giverny home, how Monet arranged Japanese prints and paintings throughout his home, and argues how Japanese art provided him an escape from reality. Monet was not only influenced by the minimalist outlines and vibrant colors of the prints but also by a desire to distance himself from the French nineteenth-century bourgeois culture. This argument is strengthened when considering other artists that were inspired by Japanese art during the Impressionist period.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Agnieszka Whelan
College Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Interior Design | Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Painting | Printmaking | Theory and Criticism
Session Title
Art History 3: Matters of Interpretation
Location
Zoom Room R
Start Date
3-20-2021 12:00 PM
End Date
3-20-2021 12:55 PM
Palpable Freedom in Claude Monet’s Giverny Home: The Visible and Obscure Manifestations of Japonisme
Zoom Room R
The latter half of the nineteenth century in France saw a rise of interest in Japanese culture which visually manifested itself in western art in a variety of ways. Claude Monet was one of the artists fascinated by the new aesthetics. The influence of Japanese art on Monet’s paintings has been well documented, especially when considering his lush blue and green paintings from the garden of Giverny. However, scholars have not considered the multiple other ways that Japanese art and culture provided an escape for Monet. This paper examines the avant-garde interior of the Giverny home, how Monet arranged Japanese prints and paintings throughout his home, and argues how Japanese art provided him an escape from reality. Monet was not only influenced by the minimalist outlines and vibrant colors of the prints but also by a desire to distance himself from the French nineteenth-century bourgeois culture. This argument is strengthened when considering other artists that were inspired by Japanese art during the Impressionist period.