Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and Other Western Artists

When Japan opened its port to international trade in the 1850s and emerged from centuries of self-imposed isolation, Japanese prints, albums and objects arrived in Europe and North America in unprecedented quantities. In the frenzy of collecting and admiration that followed, Japanese art caught the eye of designers and artists seeking fresh solutions to artistic problems.
"Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and Other Western Artists" (on view at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco from Oct. 30, 2015 through Feb. 7, 2016) explores the many movements and artists affected by Japanese art, including the great impressionist and post-impressionist painters Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin and Claude Monet. Juxtaposing masterpieces of Western art and design with rare works by prominent Japanese artists, the exhibition reveals the interplay of new styles and themes inspired by Japan.
This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For more information: