James Abbott McNeil Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on July 17, 1834. Although American born, Whistler spent most of his childhood in St. Petersburg, Russia as his father was a civil engineer. “The young Whistler was prone to moody spells and fits of temper, and his mother noticed the only thing that would calm him was drawing” (Visualartscork.com). Because he showed great interest, at age 11 his mother enrolled him into the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. According to Denys Sutton, author of James McNeil Whistler, American Artist, by 1849, “his family was back in the States where he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point.” His father insisted he join, but he was not good at following commands. So he was tasked with making maps. His interest frayed and he ended up drawing mermaids and waves of the water. His passion for art simply could not hold him and he soon abandoned the army. …show more content…
Just two years before, Japan had reopened its boarders with Europe, unleashing waves of foreign imports. Silks, fans, kimonos and more sparked the wonder and imagination of Westerners and Europeans alike. According to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, “ the opening of the boarders not only reestablished diplomatic and mercantile relations between Japan and Europe, but also opened floodgates for cultural exchanges that would profoundly affect Western and European art.” As seen throughout time, art was regarded as, “a mere medium of conveying history or teachings” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). “Traditional” art was meant to uplift its audience. An artist was not considered so if he had no formal teaching. This title would come from attending the Academy, studying under a master, perfecting his style and integrating the morals and values of the time into your own
Vermeer’s Hat offers a unique look at the rise of global trade through Brook’s eyes. Brook uses each of the paintings to describe to the audience a different picture of how the world began progressing. Most think of Vermeer as an isolated artist, with no real connection to the world outside of the walls of his mother-in-law’s house. However, as Brook shows us throughout the story, this could not be further from the truth. Brook relies on the paintings to interpret the rise of global trade to show the audience how architecture has contributed to the rise of global trade, how specific objects in the paintings related to trade, and how geography influenced trade.
In the early 1800’s, Japan had blocked off all trade from other countries. Foreign whaling ships could not even reload or repair their ships in Japan territory. This offended many other countries. In 1852, Matthew Perry was sent to Japan to negotiate open trade. Japan felt threatened by the United States, and gave in to their demands. Japan was frightened by their stipulations, and immediately began to reform. They developed a new education system that was similar to America and Europe’s. They also developed a Western style judiciary system.
Japantown, in San Francisco, is an ethnic enclave to the Japanese who migrated to the US and it is a space created by themselves for themselves to practice their old traditions and remind them of home. The Kinokuniya building in Japantown is home to many generations of Japanese and they would often celebrate traditional festivals and more than often there are many subculture groups within the Japanese here in San Francisco. One subculture that is evident is the Ikebana group located in Japancenter where they display flower arrangements called Ikebana. Being an outsider, the need to observe and research is very important to understand this art form flourishing in San Francisco. The empirical evidences I have gathered allowed me to dwell deeper into the history of Ikebana and the Ikebana group as well as the importance of this group to its fellow members.
He got a lot of his inspiration from his mother. She loved painting with water colors and making
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has one of the finest Asian art collections that has enlightened and strengthened my understanding in my personal art experience. The Museum itself is an artistic architectural structure that graces the entire block on 82nd Street in Manhattan. Entering inside, I sensed myself going back into an era, into a past where people traded ideas and learned from each other. It is a past, where I still find their works of yesteryears vividly within my grasp, to be remembered and shared as if their reflections of works were cast for the modern devoted learner.
Japan - Where East Meets West, p. 101. 25 p. 94. 26. Miller, Richard J. and Katoh, Lynn. Japan, p. 57-58. 27.
...d pleasures: orientalism in America, 1870-1930. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press in association with the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2000. Print.
Peter, S., 1996. The History of American Art Education. 7th ed. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
At Yale College, Morse was an indifferent student, but his interest was aroused by lectures of the newly-developing subject of electricity, and he painted miniature portraits. After college, to the discomfort parents, Morse directed his enthusiasm to painting, which he studied in England. After settling in New York City in 1825, he became one of the most respected painters of his time.
Constable was born in Suffolk, England on June 11, 1776. The second son of a wealthy corn merchant, it was expected Constable would go into business. His older brother suffered from various disabilities; as a result, Constable was well educated and groomed to take over the family business from his father. Constable would go into the family business, but unsatisfied with his career in commodity trading, he desired to follow his passion for painting. He would travel the Suffolk area and sketch the landscapes. He was encouraged in his work by the professional painter John Thomas Smith, but Smith urged him to stay in business and only pursue his art recreationally. Eventually he convinced his fa...
Archibald Motley Jr. was born in 1891 in New Orleans. Ever since, Archibald was a child he had the desire to be an artist. His family moved to a Chicago neighborhood in the 1890’s, but the family would take frequent trips back to New Orleans in the summer. Later we find out that these two similar settings were the determining factor for Archibald’s paintings. He decided to study art at the Institute of Chicago and was recognized by being one of the few African American artists during that time.
In contrast to Chiba’s assessment of Japonisme, the protestors summarized it as “the 19th century Orientalist fascination with Japan” (decolonizeourmuseums.tumblr.com). Valk points out that to characterize Japonisme as a controlling, one-sided fascination is not entirely correct, writing that “an absolutist understanding of Japonisme as ‘inflicted’ upon Japan also robs Japan of its agency” (385). Japan was not the victim in Japonisme. Japonisme was not something that was inflicted on Japan. Instead, Japan “actively fueled this originally French fascination, but also exercised its own fascination with the West” (Valk 385). The relationship between the West and Japan is perhaps not as dominating or parasitic as protestors imagined, as “European nations were not colonial powers in Japan, and Japan was aware of its influence over the European nations, which lead to the widespread trade in Japanese art” (Valk 385). The protestors also failed to take into account that the kimono used in the event was “commissioned by the national Japanese broadcasting company NHK…and then given to the Boston museum” and “it was originally a Japanese idea to organize kimono try-on sessions” (Valk 386). It seems that the protestors
The universality of Western Culture and design is hard to miss as it is intertwined with cities across the globe. Its impact and power has been paramount to the development of nations from the times or colonialism. With trade being a basic means of survival, from the beginning of colonialism and trade,
There was urban growth which changed the coloration and design of the kimono’s art. The art was western in nature to reflect the westernization and industrialization of Japan.