Claude Monet's Collection of Japanese Prints

This collection of Japanese Prints was brought together by the Claude Monet 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 condition and the print.

The collection is varied and half includes famous pieces by Utamaro, Hokusai and Hirsohige but also rarer works by Eiri and Eisho or Sharaku. The interest of this exceptional collection lies less in the presence of illustrious works than in the absence of certain representations (primitive prints or shungas) in favor of the landscapes so much appreciated by Monet.

Like his house and his garden, this collection allows us to discover an intimate Monet different from the legend. His deep taste for these prints is undoubtedly explained by his understanding of these ukiyo-e engravers who take up their themes endlessly, 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 gaze in the contemplation of the 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 away. It is aimed both at lovers of Japanese art and at a wider audience interested in the history of Impressionism.