Japanese Textiles & Wallpaper

The fascination with the exotic: Japan leaves its mark on all forms of art in the West

The influence of Japanese culture on French and Western artists was particularly pronounced in the second half of the 19th century, although porcelain and lacquerware had been appreciated since the 17th century.
A period of Japanese trade opening to the West, the 19th century brought new objects into the visual landscape, such as fans, folding screens, and textiles. Subsequently, prints, particularly ukiyo-e, known as "pictures of the floating world," revolutionized Western artistic vision with their distinctive characteristics (absence of perspective, compartmentalized forms, and vibrant colors).
In France, it was at the 1867 Universal Exposition that the pavilion dedicated to Japan, showcasing thousands of artistic, artisanal, and industrial objects, was unveiled. A taste for Asian culture gradually reached the general public through the collections of Émile Guimet, a Lyon-based industrialist and great art lover, who founded the Natural History Museum in Lyon in 1879.
His collections now form part of those of the Musée des Confluences and the entirety of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques (Paris), and continue to influence our work.
Le Presse Papier thus contributes to perpetuating a dreamlike vision of Japan, its customs such as Hanami, and its aesthetic universe as expressed through prints.