Renegade-Edo-Paris

Past Exhibitions

< >

Edo Paris Hero Image — *The Actor Onoe Matsutake I in the Role of a Young Woman of Fashion*, 1780s, Ippitsusai Bunchō.

Renegade Edo and Paris: Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec

JULY 21 – DEC 3 2023
SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM
South Gallery

What do late 18th- to 19th-century Edo (present-day Tokyo) and late 19th-century Paris have in common? This exhibition, which can only be seen in Seattle, uncovers the shared renegade spirit that characterized the graphic arts and social cultures of these two dynamic cities. On view are over 90 Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings from SAM’s Japanese collection alongside private loans of works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901). In addition to the intriguing formal and thematic parallels between these two collections of graphic arts, the exhibition reveals the social impulses behind their burgeoning art production. As both cities faced challenges to the status quo from the rising middle classes, subversive impulses gave rise to vibrant cultures of theatregoing, pleasure seeking, and new forms of visual art.

Renegade Edo and Paris marks the first time that the Seattle Asian Art Museum presents an exhibition comparing Japanese and French art. It is curated by Xiaojin Wu, Luther W. Brady Curator of Japanese Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, formerly Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation Curator of Japanese and Korean Art at the Seattle Art Museum.

Renegade Edo and Paris: Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec is organized by the Seattle Art Museum.

Lead Sponsors

Allan and Mary Kollar

Generous Support
Katherine Agen Baillargeon Endowment
Blakemore Foundation
The Japan Foundation
Mary Ann and Henry James Asian Art Exhibition Endowment

“

The waters are blue and the plants pink; the evening is sweet to look upon; one goes for a stroll. The great ladies are out for a stroll; behind them walk lesser ladies.

”

From Paris, capital of France (1897) by poet and diplomat Nguyen-Trong-Hiep (1834–1902)

Woman in Corset (Femme en corset) from the series Elles — *Woman in Corset* (Femme en corset) from the series *Elles*, 1896, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

*A High-Ranking Yūjo with a Client*, 1799, Kitagawa Utamaro.

“

...living only for the moment, savoring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossom, and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting oneself just in floating, unconcerned by the prospect of imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree…[T]his is what we call ukiyo.

”

Writer Asai Ryōi (d. 1691)

BOHEMIA IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE PARIS

Paris in the late 19th century, like Edo before it, was undergoing substantial changes and experiencing a rise in anti-establishment attitudes. Entertainment venues such as the iconic Moulin Rouge, as well as dance halls, café-concerts, and theatres, emerged in the Montmartre district, the center of bohemian subculture and home to many artists, performers, and sex workers. Meanwhile, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and his contemporaries searched for fresh and more expressive art forms, and they found much needed novelty in Japanese prints. Many such pictures began arriving in France in the 1860s, which fueled japonisme, a fascination for all things Japanese. Toulouse-Lautrec was indebted to Japanese prints, in particular to those by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806); he was often referred to as “Montmartre’s Utamaro.”

A FLOATING WORLD IN EDO

Catalogue Book Photos — *Renegade Edo and Paris: Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec* catalogue published by University of Washington Press.

Images: The Actor Onoe Matsutake I in the Role of a Young Woman of Fashion, 1780s, Ippitsusai Bunchō, Japanese, woodblock print: ink and color on paper, sheet size: 11 7/8 x 5 5/8 in., Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2013.31.9. Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn. A High-Ranking Yūjo with a Client, 1799, Kitagawa Utamaro, Japanese, 1754 - 1806, woodblock print: ink and color on paper, sheet: 10 x 15 1/8 in., Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2017.23.12. Photo: Susan Cole. Woman in Corset (Femme en corset) from the series Elles, 1896, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, 1864-1901, color lithograph, 20 5/8 × 15 7/8 in., Portland Art Museum, Gift from the Collection of Laura and Roger Meier, 2003.10.6. Le Débauche (Debauchery), cover for Catalogues d’Affiches artistiques, 1896, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, 1864-1901, color lithograph, 9 1/4 × 12 1/2 in., John and Joyce Price Collection. Yoshida on the Tōkaidō, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, ca. 1830-32, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760-1849, woodblock print: ink and color on paper, 10 x 14 3/4 in., Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2010.47.1. Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM