THE JAPANESE AESTHETIC

The way the two artists looked at Japan was different, and the kimono was used to convey the difference in point of view in the fashion.

Edward Atkinson Hornel, Japanese Girls, 1896, oil on canvas, 40.6 x 30.8 cm, Private collection, Scotland.

Hornel's Japanese Aesthetic

Japan was the source of fascination for the western world in the nineteenth century. It drew the attention of the Western public. This new fascination led the Scottish artist Edward Atkinson Hornel to travel to Japan in 1893.14 He wanted to go to Japan “to see and study the environment out of which this great art sprung, to become personally in touch with the people, live their life, and discover the source of their inspiration.”5 The thirteen months trip inspired him to create many arts based on what he saw throughout his career. He was “forever enchanted by the tea ceremonies, the beautiful dancing, the elegance of the young women and their vibrant costumes.”5 The bright splashes of color used in his 1896 work Japanese Girls show the colorful visuals he saw in Japan. His work was his response to Japanese culture and art.12

Wada Eisaku, Girl Reading a Newspaper, 1901, oil on canvas, The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Japan.

Wada's Japanese Aesthetic

There is a different mood in Japan that Wada Eisaku portrays in his work Girl Reading a Newspaper. Wada Eisaku was a nihonga artist who worked to preserve the Japanese tradition in art as the Japanese art scene became more and more influenced by Western art. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Wada created the concept of “kimono beauty.”6 The “idealised images of beautiful women” were invented in kimonos as “national icons.”6 It was about retaining the traditional Japanese artistic sense when portraying these women. Girl Reading a Newspaper is an example of such work. There is a fusion of the modern and the tradition in this work. The result is an oil painting, a western or modern art technique. (At the time, in Japan, what was western was considered modern.) The subject of the painting is a woman reading a newspaper—a modern object—wearing a yukata—traditional summer kimono—on a tatami—a traditional mat. While nihonga was associated with the traditional, it was a “modern creation.3 There was a blending of the western and the Japanese, even in nihonga art.

Comparing the Two Perspectives

"energetic surface" vs. "aesthetic of reduction"

Both works are made with oil paint, a western medium of art, and merge with the Japanese subject of both paintings. Even though they depict Japan, there is a critical difference in their portrayals. Hornel captured the lively and vivid entertainment culture in Japan. This can be seen in the Japanese Girls. The “energetic surface, the dynamic postures and expressive faces of the geishas”6 of the work reflect this decorative and glamorous aspect of Japan. However, that is only one look at Japan. Wada tried to depict quite the opposite side of Japan. There is a culture of silence in Japan, and “many of Japan's traditional art forms are built on an aesthetic of reduction, on the principle that less is more.”9 This concept of blank space is called ma, and it is about the “rich possibilities of blank space.”9 This idea can be seen in the way Wada depicts Japan. There is a sense of peace and stillness in the painting. Comparing the fashion of the two paintings, it can clearly be seen what the two artists wanted to show. The color patterns of the kimono of the geisha in the Japanese Girls by Hornel are vibrant and loud compared to the simple patterns of the clothing in the Wada painting.

The artists are both portraying Japan but distinct aspects of it. Hornel wanted to display the colorful and vibrant part of Japanese aesthetics. On the other hand, Wada represented the quiet and calm impression. The way the two artists looked at Japan was different, and the kimono was used to convey the difference in point of view.