Claude Monet's Collection of Japanese Prints

Claude Monet’s collection of Japanese prints brings together more than two hundred engravings. It's a collection brought together by the artist according to pictorial criteria that reflect the man in love with lines and colors but also a curious and passionate spirit, concerned about the quality of the proofs, the state and the drawing. The collection is varied and includes some of the famous pieces of Utamaro, Hokusai and Hirsohige but also more rare works of Eiri and Eisho or Sharaku. The interest of this exceptional ensemble is in the absence of certain representations (primitive prints or shungas) in favor of the landscapes so appreciated by Monet. Like his house and garden this collection allows us to discover an intimate Monet different from the legend. His deep affection for these prints is undoubtedly explained by his understanding of these ukiyo engravers who take up their themes to infinity whether it is Mount Fuji for one or the sixty provinces for the other. Hokusai is very close to Monet tirelessly repeating the cathedral of Rouen or drowning his eyes in the contemplation of water lilies. The long-awaited republication of this reference work has enabled the authors Geneviève Aitken and Marianne Delafond, great specialists in the subject, to update their contribution by integrating prints from the collection, but sold or given. It is aimed both at art lovers in Japan and at a wider audience interested in the history of impressionism.