A French 'Japonisme' Gilt & Patinated Bronze & Chinese Cloisonné Enamel Table By Ferdinand Barbedienne,
The Design attributed to Edouard Lievre, Paris, Circa 1870, the Cloisonné Qing Dynasty, 19th Century,
The rectangular top with turquoise ground elaborately decorated with colorful flora, fauna, feathers and foliate scrolls, set in cloud-form pierced gallery, raised on cluster-column bamboo-style stem adorned with dragons, with further bamboo-style supports and similar base with outscrolled feet, signed F. Barbedienne to base.
35 in. (89 cm.) high, 34 in. (87 cm.), 22 in. (56 cm.) deep.
René Lalique was born #OTD (6 April 1860 - 1 May 1945). Since it's also still #BatAppreciationWeek, here are a few of Lalique's many bats!
1. bat anklet c.1898-9; gold, enamel, antique & rose diamond, opal
2. bat ring c.1899; silver, enamel, moonstone, gold
both Musée des Arts décoratifs
Both these pieces were commissioned as gifts for American writer Natalie Clifford Barney (1876-1972), who was openly lesbian; bats were a Fin de siècle symbol of homosexuality. But they were also popular Art Nouveau motifs thanks to Japonisme. Here is another example:
3. Ring c.1901, gold, blue enamel, sapphire
And another, this one paired with another popular Art Nouveau animal:
4. "Butterflies and Bats" pocketwatch, c. 1899-1900; gold, enamel, moonstone.Via Christie's (sold in 2002 for US$207,500)
Discover ‘Dreamed Japan, Images of the Floating World’, an immersive journey into the environment of the masters of Japanese prints.
This production was inspired by the Japanese prints that began to circulate in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century and became a large source of inspiration for many Western artists.
This contemplative exhibition by the Danny Rose Studio also pays homage to Van Gogh's fascination with the "Japonisme" and how the 19th japanese prints played a great influence on the dutch artist.
Watercolor & graphite on white wove paper, in frame: 94 × 123.2 × 6 cm (37 × 48 1/2 × 2 3/8 in.)
On display at Harvard Art Museums
“An accomplished watercolorist, graphic artist, and furniture and interior designer, Nieuwenhuis is highly regarded as a leading figure of Dutch Art Nouveau. Trained in Amsterdam, he traveled to Germany, Austria, and France, including a two-year stint in Paris from 1888 to 1890, just at the beginning of a craze for Art Nouveau that quickly spread throughout Europe. This engaging work, in both subject matter and overall pattern-like composition, evidences the artist's synthesis of international influences, especially from Japanese art.
The frame is original, designed by the artist as an integral part of the complete work. The engraved monogram is that of the work's first collector, Sara de Swart (1861-1951), a sculptor and protégé of Rodin and a collector of Van Gogh and other contemporary artists. She was a well-known figure in Dutch art circles, raising eyebrows for her unconventional, openly queer lifestyle.”
Utagawa Hiroshige, Wind Blown Grass Across the Moon - Wikimedia
“If we study Japanese art, then we see a man, undoubtedly wise and a philosopher and intelligent, who spends his time — on what? — studying the distance from the earth to the moon? — no; studying Bismarck’s politics? — no, he studies a single blade of grass.” Vincent van Gogh, Letter to Theo, 23-24 September 1888