Lena Rivera
Vincent van Gogh's painting 'Bridge in the Rain' was inspired by a print by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Van Gogh was a great admirer of Japanese woodcuts and ukiyo-e, and his painting is based on Hiroshige's 'Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake' from the series 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo'. Van Gogh's work is a tribute to Hiroshige, with the European artist adding his own distinctive style through the use of brighter colours and conspicuous brushstrokes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Inspiration | Japanese woodcuts |
| Based on | A print by Utagawa Hiroshige |
| Differences from the original | More intense colours, brighter colour scheme, emphasis on the power of nature, different texture |
| Border | Filled with Japanese characters copied from other prints |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Year | 1887 |
| Current location | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam |
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What You'll Learn
Van Gogh's admiration for Japanese art
The painting "Bridge in the Rain" by Vincent van Gogh was inspired by a print by the famous artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Van Gogh greatly admired Japanese art, especially woodblock prints, and he was not alone in this admiration. In the mid-19th century, Japanese ports opened up to international trade, and Japanese art and culture became all the rage in Europe, with a new word in French, "Japonisme", being created to describe this mania for art from the East.
Van Gogh's interest in Japanese prints began when he discovered illustrations by Félix Régamey, which followed Japanese techniques and often depicted scenes of Japanese life. He started collecting prints for fun, but they ultimately had a profound influence on his artistic development and outlook. He saw them as artistic equals to the classical masterpieces of European art history and believed they offered a new way of looking at the world. Van Gogh particularly admired the techniques employed by Japanese artists, such as the use of bold and assertive outlines, flat regions of uniform colour, and the absence of chiaroscuro. He also appreciated the ordinary subject matter and the distinctive cropping of their compositions.
Van Gogh worked extensively with his Japanese prints, initially tracing them and producing relatively close copies. He made three copies of ukiyo-e prints: "The Courtesan" and two studies after Hiroshige. He also incorporated elements of Japanese style into the background of some of his paintings. For example, in his painting "Flowering Plum Orchard", he gave the image of the plum tree an orange frame, on which he placed Japanese characters borrowed from another woodcut. He wanted to make his work more "exotic", and the unfamiliarity of Japanese stylistic elements appealed to him.
Van Gogh's encounter with Japanese art and his "role models" in this tradition was the most important and decisive influence on his artistic life. It helped him develop his own distinctive style and led him to form a utopian notion of the Japanese artist and their relationship with nature. This influenced his decision to leave Paris for Provence, a region he perceived to be most comparable to Japan, where art and spirit flourished outside of constraining conventions.
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Differences between Van Gogh's and Hiroshige's versions
Post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh's "Bridge in the Rain" was inspired by and modelled after a work by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. While both works depict a sudden rain shower, there are several differences between the two paintings.
Firstly, Van Gogh's painting is an oil painting on canvas, while Hiroshige's work is a colour woodblock print. This difference in medium results in distinct textural qualities. Van Gogh's use of conspicuous brushstrokes and visible touches of paint creates a textured surface that is absent in Hiroshige's smooth woodblock print.
Secondly, Van Gogh's colour palette is brighter and more intense than Hiroshige's. By using brighter colours, Van Gogh's version elicits a stronger emotional response from the viewer and conveys a sense of the power of nature. The eerie blue sky in both works contributes to the feeling of danger and unpredictability.
Thirdly, Van Gogh's painting includes a border filled with Japanese characters copied from other prints. He added this border to maintain the proportions of Hiroshige's original print while using a standard-size canvas. This border not only pays homage to Japanese art but also adds a unique compositional element to Van Gogh's painting.
Lastly, there are subtle differences in the overall mood and tone of the two artworks. While both pieces depict a rain shower and swirling wind, Hiroshige's "Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake" from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" has a more tranquil and gentle atmosphere due to its colour scheme and landscape. Van Gogh's version, with its intense colours and textured brushstrokes, captures a more dramatic and emotive interpretation of the scene.
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Influence of Japonisme on European artists
Japonisme, a French term, refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among Western European artists in the 19th century. This influence extended beyond the visual arts to architecture, landscaping, gardening, clothing, and the performing arts. The opening of Japanese ports to international trade in the mid-19th century sparked a craze for Japanese culture and art, especially woodblock prints, among Europeans. This mania for Eastern art was described by the new term, Japonisme.
Post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was one such artist inspired by Japanese prints. His painting "Bridge in the Rain" was based on a work by Utagawa Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e school of woodblock printing. Van Gogh was drawn to the bright colours and distinctive compositions of Japanese woodcuts and sought to incorporate these elements into his own work. By studying and mimicking the unusual colour pairings in Hiroshige's prints, Van Gogh found a new way to elicit strong emotions in the viewer, an important aspect of post-impressionist art.
Other artists also incorporated Japonisme into their work during this period. For example, Edgar Degas collected Japanese prints and was influenced by their atypical positioning of female figures and dedication to reality. This can be seen in his print "Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery (1879-1880)", which features two figures, one seated and one standing, a common composition in Japanese prints. Stevens' paintings also reflect Japonisme, with Japanese elements featuring in works such as "La Dame en Rose (1866)" and "The Psyché (1871)".
The influence of Japonisme extended beyond the visual arts, with German drama adopting elements of Japanese stage design, such as the revolving stage and the Blumensteg, a jutting extension of the stage into the audience. Japonisme also influenced architecture, with Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School style drawing inspiration from Japanese architecture and philosophy, which he encountered at the 1893 Columbian World Exposition in Chicago. Wright collected hundreds of Japanese prints and was struck by the way "a Japanese artist grasps form always by reaching underneath for its geometry."
In conclusion, Japonisme had a significant influence on European artists in the 19th century, transforming their approaches to composition, palette, and perspectival space. This integration of Japanese iconography and concepts into European art and design was fuelled by the opening of trade with Japan and the resulting influx of Japanese art and artefacts into Europe.
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Van Gogh's colour choices
Van Gogh's painting "Bridge in the Rain" is based on a print by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Van Gogh was known to be a great admirer of Japanese woodcuts and Ukiyo-e prints ("pictures of the floating world"), which flourished in Japan during the Edo period. He was particularly drawn to their bright colours and distinctive compositions.
In creating "Bridge in the Rain", Van Gogh made the colours more intense than in Hiroshige's original work. He added a border, which he filled with Japanese characters copied from other prints. This border, in dark red or green with red characters, gives the impression of looking through a window into the scene beyond.
Van Gogh's use of colour in this painting also reflects his move away from his earlier 'Dutch palette' of grey tones towards a more colourful and vibrant style. This shift may have been influenced by his time in Paris, which was then the centre of the art world, and by his exposure to Japanese art and culture, which was in vogue at the time.
In a letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh wrote, "I envy the Japanese for the enormous clarity that pervades their work... Their work is as simple as breathing, and they draw a figure with a few well-chosen lines with the same ease, as effortless as buttoning up one's waistcoat..." Van Gogh's admiration for Japanese art and his desire to infuse his work with its sensibilities may have influenced his colour choices in "Bridge in the Rain", leading him to intensify the colours of Hiroshige's original woodcut.
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The impact of nature in the paintings
Nature has long been a source of inspiration for artists, with art mimicking or taking visual cues from nature. Artists have been inspired by nature in different ways, from creating photorealistic depictions of nature to using creative liberties to assign bright colours to detailed patterns inspired by nature. For instance, Jean-Baptiste Oudry's painting "Rhinoceros" is a life-size depiction of an Indian rhino, with lighting effects that draw the viewer's attention to the horn. Similarly, Delmus Phelps creates breathtaking flower paintings of roses, daffodils, and magnolias.
Post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was also inspired by nature and was particularly drawn to Japanese woodcuts for their bright colours and distinctive compositions. His painting "Bridge in the Rain" was based on a print by Utagawa Hiroshige, a Japanese artist. Van Gogh intensified the colours and added a border filled with Japanese characters, making the painting his own while still paying homage to Hiroshige's original work.
Van Gogh's admiration for Japanese art is evident in his desire to maintain the proportions of the original print and his use of Japanese characters. The impact of nature in "Bridge in the Rain" is apparent in the eerie blue sky, which makes the sudden rain shower seem dangerous and serves as a reminder of the unpredictable power of nature. By studying Hiroshige's unusual colour pairings, Van Gogh found a way to elicit strong emotions in the viewer, an important aspect of post-impressionist art.
Nature-inspired art can take many forms, from whimsical bird drawings that expand our view of creatures in nature to abstract paintings influenced by natural phenomena and forms. Artists like Dong Qichang and Ni Zan, a seventeenth-century painter, emphasised the importance of studying both the works of great masters and the works of nature. Zen ink paintings, for example, were often created in the wilderness rather than in an artist's studio, reflecting the belief that enlightenment can be achieved through interaction with the natural world.
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Frequently asked questions
Bridge in the Rain by Vincent van Gogh is based on a print by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige.
Van Gogh used brighter colours and conspicuous brushstrokes, making the colours more intense than in the original. He also embedded the power of nature and used a different colour scheme.
Van Gogh admired Japanese woodcuts for their bright colours and distinctive compositions. By studying and mimicking the unusual pairings of colours in Hiroshige's woodblock prints, Van Gogh found a new way to elicit strong emotions in the viewer, which was important to him as a Post-impressionist artist.
