Japonisme. The fascination with Japanese art

An exhibition on Japonisme, one of the richest and most polyhedral artistic expressions of the 19th century, and an internationally recognised artistic movement. Interest in Japan spread throughout Europe during the second half of the 19th century through international outreach initiatives as influential as the establishment and the art nouveau of Siegfried Bing, who left his mark on the work of Impressionist, post-Impressionist and even avant-garde artists. Japonisme in Spain was born out of the 1870s and had its period of greatest influence late in the century and around the great Modernist artists, with a wealth of aesthetics and works as diverse as those of Marià Fortuny, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. In this sense, Spain, especially Catalonia, has a body of Japonisme work which is extensive, but still not very well-known.