The Exchanges of Vincent van Gogh in 1888: Between Japanese Tradition and Avant-Garde Networks
- Art d'Histoire
- May 28
- 2 min read
Arles, autumn 1888.
Vincent van Gogh is isolated in this land that seems to him like a little Japan and envisions, following Japanese tradition, the exchange of paintings with his fellow painters.
Nippon Inspiration
The impulse for this exchange network stems directly from Vincent van Gogh's attraction to Japanese culture and the feeling he derived, upon reading Louis Gonse, of the existence of a gentle fraternity between artists and poets of the Land of the Rising Sun.
He learned from his readings that artists grouped in secret societies—of which the Parisian Jing-Lar was a kind of imitation—exchanged small, exquisitely printed drawings called surimono during these meetings. Though rare in Paris, Vincent had nonetheless been able to consult one at the home of a collector he knew.
Lacking engravings, he intended to exchange paintings with his colleagues, all of whom were admirers of the Japanese.
Painting as a Vector of Fraternity
The exchange project thus brought together Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Henri Moret, Charles Laval, and Ernest Ponthier de Chamaillard.
The portrait established itself as the preferred form of this dialogue. For example, the Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin executed by Vincent van Gogh mirrored the canvas Les Misérables, Self-Portrait Dedicated to Vincent van Gogh painted by Paul Gauguin.
The canvas Self-Portrait with Portrait of Gauguin created by Émile Bernard visually integrated his colleague into his own space of representation. Other cross-dispatches, such as the Self-Portrait to Friend Laval painted by Vincent van Gogh and the Self-Portrait to Friend Vincent brushed by Charles Laval, confirmed these marks of friendship and brotherhood.
Vincent van Gogh also intended several landscapes for his colleagues: the painting Thistles was planned for Henri Moret, while the canvas The Old Mill was reserved for Ernest de Chamaillard. The composition Quay with Men Unloading Sand Barges was, for its part, destined for Émile Bernard.
The Dutch painter saw in this Japanese model an ideal system of exchange with his painter friends based in Brittany, while waiting to reunite with them within his future and dreamed-of community of painters based in Arles.
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