Taikan Yokoyama, Autumn Hues, 1917, color on gold leafed silk, pair of six-fold screens, 165.5 x 367.2cm each

It’s easy to regard Japanese painter Taikan Yokoyama
and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the French printmaker, painter and illustrator, as polar opposites. The contrasts in their work are many, and their historical portrayals a compendium of naughty and nice—Yokoyama was considered the virtuous inspiration of his day while Toulouse-Lautrec, ensconced in the underbelly of French society, was intriguingly scandalous.

And yet their subtle similarities are fun to debate, made more apparent by the close proximity (just a 10-minute walk between them) of their ongoing Tokyo exhibitions. Yokoyama’s exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo, marks the 50th anniversary of his death, while Toulouse-Lautrec is showing at the Suntory Museum of Art in Midtown.

The lives of the two men overlapped during the late 1800s, a period of widespread social and industrial upheaval. From Paris, the Impressionists like Degas, Renoir and Monet were beginning to influence the styles of Japanese artists like Yokoyama.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, 1891, lithograph, 195.4 x 125.5cm

Courtesy of Suntory Museum, Osaka

Despite his traditional and nationalist leanings, Yokoyama had a rebellious streak and delved into the avant garde. With his teacher and mentor, Okakura Kakuzo, who had a falling out with the Ministry of Education, he established the Japan Academy of Fine Arts. In terms of his painting style, he forged a radical new approach of visualizing light and space, borrowed from Western techniques. In addition, he eliminated the traditional line drawings of nihonga, experimenting instead with blending rich color combinations. Called morotai (moro means vague or indistinct), this ultimately became Yokoyama’s signature style. His Autumn Hues work is a fine example. The coloration makes the ivy leaves—vibrant greens blurred into rich yellows and reds—look like autumn jewels.

Further contributing to his international style, Yokoyama regularly traveled abroad. A trip to India is said to have inspired some of his greatest work, like The Floating Lantern Festival (in India), a captivating nihonga portraiture of three women dressed in sari and Indian jewels. Chinese influences—like dragons, small figures against grand landscapes, and portraits of famous figures—are also evident in his work.

Conversely, imagery plucked from Japanese woodblock prints of geisha and kabuki actors from Edo’s Floating World were finding their way onto the canvases of well-known Western painters.
Toulouse-Lautrec was also fascinated by the Japanese woodblock print and became a collector. Numerous interesting comparisons are displayed in the Suntory exhibition. His charming Yvette Guilbert, projet d’affiche portrait reveals the popular Moulin Rouge cabaret actress in a pose and atmosphere closely resembling an ukiyo-e print by Toyokuni Utagawa of the kabuki star Ichikawa Yaozo III. “The floating world” of Edo and the Parisian Montmartre were not necessarily worlds apart—in spirit.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Courtesy of Musee Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi

Photographs of the entertainers and Toulouse-Lautrec, his well-known top hat, cane, spectacles and private paraphernalia add depth and historical insight to the show. His childhood pictures and later drawings of racehorses and animals clearly reveal his innately talented eye for dramatic perspective.

Both artists were born to elite families, Yokoyama from an old samurai clan in Mito and Toulouse-Lautrec from the southern French town of Albi, where his aristocratic family owned an estate and lineage dating back over 1,000 years. The two men forged their own intensely individual styles, gaining recognition and notoriety at home while blending influences from each other’s lands.

“Yokoyama Taikan Fifty Years On—A Legend in the Making,” through Mar 3, The National Art Center, Tokyo. “Toulouse-Lautrec et La Vie Parisienne,” through Mar 9, Suntory Museum of Art. See exhibition listings (Akasaka/Roppongi) for details.