From West to East

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer

Morita Tsunetomo of Japan became enthralled with Cézanne's work while studying in France. When he returned to Japan, he created this landscape — "Scene in Aizu," oil on canvas, 1916 — using a similar color palette. The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama

Paul Cézanne was studied by some Japanese artists of his time. Shown here: Cezanne's "Reflections on Water," oil on canvas, circa 1892-1894. The Museum of Art, Ehime

"Buste de Femme (Fernande)," a 1909 oil on canvas by Pablo Picasso, is part of the exhibit. Hiroshima Museum of Art How Cézanne influenced Morita Pairings show the influence of European masters on Japanese artists, including the landscapes shown below. Other pairings not shown here, include: Nudes: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Bather" 1891 and Umehara Ryuzaburo's "Narcissus" 1913 (the two became friends, and Renoir taught the younger artist his expressive handling of color). Figures: Henri Matisse's "Odalisque with Arms Raised," 1921 and Yorozu Tetsugoro's "Head of a Woman (Woman with a Boa)," 1912.

With more than 10,000 tickets pre-sold (some as far away as the East Coast), the coming show at the Honolulu Academy of Arts is expected to draw audiences comparable to those for 1995's "Tomb Treasures from China: The Buried Art of Ancient Xi'an" and 2000's "Mystery of the Nile: Treasures From Ancient Egypt."

While it rivals its predecessors in scope, prestige and sheer popularity, this one has a different nature: The first two were traveling shows, making a pit stop in Honolulu. This one, five years in the making, begins and ends here, with the first major exhibition of impressionism in Hawai'i.

There's some Matisse here, Renoir there. Some remarkable Cézanne and several great Monets. Modigliani. Toulouse-Lautrec. Pissarro. Degas. And did we mention the Picassos (plural)?

There's also "L'Allée of the Alyscamps, Arles," a 1888 piece by Paul Gauguin, obtained by temporarily swapping the Honolulu art museum's own Gauguin for the piece held by the Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art.

"It took an offer of our Gauguin to get their Gauguin," explained Stephen Little, the museum's new director, who added with a laugh, "It's mutual extortion of paintings. Sometimes, it's the only thing that's effective."

The show is much more than an exhibit of pretty paintings, said Little.

"It wouldn't be hard to do a beautiful show of impression paintings," he said. "What's significant about this show is, it's about the artistic dialogue between Japan and Paris. It's about the history of collecting impressionists in Japan."

As project director Jennifer Saville said, "We all know East to West. This is a new twist on West to East."

Viewers of the exhibit will find that the show profiles Japanese collectors, showing that they were sophisticated about modern art.

"That story will be very surprising to our audience," Little said.

Collectors from Japan include early industrialist Matsukata Kojiro, who studied at the Sorbonne in 1889-90. (Note: The museum uses the Japanese format for names in which the family name comes before the individual's given name. This story follows the museum's usage.) He traveled often to Paris, had a home there, and amassed a huge collection of French paintings. Much of it, however, was sold during World War II. This is the first time in nearly six decades that several Matsukata-collected pieces have been seen together, offering a better glimpse of his tastes.

For this exhibit, the logistical costs alone came to $1 million. A federal indemnity was required to insure it.

How much would these paintings go for today? Well, consider: In 1987, a Japanese insurance company paid $40.3 million for a van Gogh. While there's no van Gogh here, these are masters of the impressionist period, so 17 years later, that might look like chump change.

"Japan & Paris" also includes art from 14 Japanese artists who went to France to study the masters. Some, Little said, got to meet Monet, Renoir and others. Besides becoming collectors, they were among the first wave of Japanese oil painters.

"Oil on canvas, that was a radical way of creating art" for Japanese artists, Saville said.

Little said these painters brought the impressionist movement back to Japan — as well as some then-shocking nudes.

This exhibit gives the Japanese artists placement right next to their mentors to show the melding of artistic expression.

Many of the Japanese artists are blockbusters themselves.

"They really revolutionized art" in Japan, Little said.

The random-access audio tour means you can start in any of the rooms, though the exhibit does create a sense of evolution if you follow it from entry to exit, showing the development through thematic areas: landscapes, cityscapes, figures, nudes, "personal vision" and the finale room, which shows the culmination of the period. Interesting case studies are highlighted throughout.

These Japanese artists struggled with the conflict of assimilating the European style while maintaining their national sensibilities, Saville said.

"These were new ways at looking at the world, at naturalism. New uses of color. All the tools of the artist's brush," she said.

Many did resolve the conflict and stay true to themselves, including, notably, Mitsutani Kunishiro and Fujita Tsuguhara, who is perhaps the most internationally acclaimed Japanese artist of his time. Viewers may want to spend a long time soaking up their work, even as the Renoir and Cezannes beckon them back.

Reach Mary Kaye Ritz at mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8035.

Getting the hang of this unusual collection

These paintings have never been all together before now, nor is it likely they will be again, since many belong to collections that usually don't lend their work.

The earliest painting dates to 1882. The most recent is 1932.

They make interesting case studies (see box, this page) of the influence of impressionists and postimpressionists on Japanese painters of the time.

Several Japanese collectors agreed to loan their works only because of special ties to people in Hawai'i.

Timing is everything: A great Degas painting, the portrait of Mary Cassatt, was originally in the collection of Matsukata Kojiro, but was sold during his lifetime (1865-1950).

Because it is now part of the National Portrait Gallery, and because the gallery is currently closed for repairs, it was available to be shown as part of this exhibit.

Correction: Matsukata Kojiro studied briefly at the Sorbonne in 1889-90. An incorrect date was given in a previous version of this story.