Earlier this October, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston opened up a new, limited-time exhibit-- one on the renowned American painter William Merritt Chase. This exhibit was a fantastic showcase for the effect of cultural diffusion in art. Cultural diffusion and interaction has always been both an important and mesmerizing part of the art world. William Merritt Chase’s works are clear evidence of such, with Chase constantly utilizing aspects of art from Europe and Asia, from color palettes to costumes. The exhibit in the Museum of Fine Arts does a spectacular job showcasing this, particularly Chase’s Japanese influence-- complete with supplementary authentic Japanese works and background history given by the curator’s statement printed on the wall of the room, the William Merritt Chase exhibit is able to convey Chase’s Japanese influence in a way that is easily understandable and digestible to the reader.
The Japonisme room isn’t seen before traveling through several rooms prior, but in the room directly proceeding it, there lies another painting depicting clear Asian influence-- a portrait of Chase’s friend (and artist herself) Dora Wheeler. This painting is heavily influenced by China; Wheeler posed in a blue dress that juxtaposed with the brilliant yellow background Chase painted behind her. While Chase loved creating color contrasts in his portraits, this particular hue of yellow is meant to be a call to Chinese embroidered textiles. This painting, Portrait of Dora Wheeler, went on to receive raucous appraisal, winning a gold medal after its display in the Paris Salon, as well as favor with German critics.
In the next room, the centerpiece of Chase’s cultural influence is on display-- a room on Chase and Japonisme. Japonisme, as described by the curator’s note on the wall, as “an international craze for all things Japan in the 19th century”-- interestingly enough, such a fascination with Japanese culture has resurfaced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This Japonisme movement came at a time where Japan was experiencing rapid industrialization, rushing to keep up with the world. Japan wanted to expand its economy via trade, and found a method through the Western fascination of foreign culture. The exhibition offers a possible origin for Chase’s interest in Japanese culture and goods-- Shugio Hiromichi.
Shugio Hiromichi was an Oxford-educated Japanese who moved to New York with his family around 1880 in order to promote Japanese trade, and opened up shop not far from Chase’s New York City studio. Both Chase and Hiromichi were members of an artists’ association, so Chase most certainly had the opportunity to see firsthand Hiromichi’s impressive collection of Japanese goods and prints. The exhibition even puts on display a catalogue of one of Hiromichi’s exhibitions that were put on display at New York’s Groiler Club. This particular exhibition catalogue not-so-coincidentally coincides with Chase’s explorations of Japanese themes.
Chase readily incorporated the Japanese items he’d viewed and acquired into his art. In the exhibit, several portraits display models donned with a Japanese kimono. In another, called the Japanese Doll, Chase paints a traditional, Western still life, but of a Japanese subject. Chase also drew inspiration from Japanese prints and wood blocks, with some authentic ones on display as supplementary pieces in the exhibition. In a photograph of Chase with his children, seen in the curator’s commentary, Chase is holding a red Japanese parasol. A few rooms later, a painting of his wife and child contains a Japanese doll clad in a blue kimono in the background. It’s undeniable that Japan and the Japonisme movement had a massive impact on Chase and his work. Overall, the exhibit is a gorgeous piece that is a fantastic demonstration of the cultural impact the East had on Western artwork, and is definitely worth a visit.
The exhibit is available at the MFA until January 16, 2017.
