The Rijksmuseum presents Modern Japanese Lacquer

The Modern Japanese Lacquer exhibition has been developed in partnership with Museum für Lackkunst in Münster, Germany. It was compiled by Jan Dees, a specialist in the field of Japanese lacquer. The core exhibits from the collection of Jan Dees and René van der Star are complemented by loaned works from Japan, the United States and Europe.

Attentive viewing

With its history stretching back 1,000 years, lacquerware is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Over that time Japanese lacquer, or urushi, has been refined into a highly developed art form, in which intricate decoration is built up using dozens of layers of gossamer-thin lacquer, sprinkled with gold or silver powder, and sometimes augmented with inlays of gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, and quail eggshell. This gives rise to the so-called ‘sprinkled picture’, or maki-e, which presents to the viewer a dreamed world that almost always draws its inspiration from nature – sunlight captured on a flower, perhaps, or a praying mantis on an aubergine looking up alertly. Lacquer art is about looking attentively and in detail at the subject matter and the techniques used, enabling the viewer to absorb the beauty and stillness of a moment in nature.

Modern Japanese Lacquer

The Modern Japanese Lacquer exhibition begins with the belle époque of lacquer art. From 1890 onwards, students could choose to receive multidisciplinary training at the newly founded art academies. For the first time, they were regarded as individual artists. This led to a departure from the classical iconography, with designs becoming more personal – as exemplified by the writing case that Emperor Meiji left to one of his concubines in 1912. The writing case depicts Semimaru, a blind prince in exile who interrupts his lute playing to listen to the rustling of the grasses in the breeze.

Despite the transformation lacquer art was undergoing at the start of the 20th century, the artists were criticised for a perceived lack of innovation and barred from participating in the annual national Salon. Frustrated by this, the artists embarked on a struggle for recognition that forced them to reinvent themselves. The years that followed witnessed successes in the development of a new visual idiom and, at last, in 1927 lacquer art was admitted to the Salon, prompting an explosion of creativity and bold designs. The exhibition shows this process culminating in the almost photographic depiction of a cormorant on a surf-swept rock.

The Japanese lacquer collection of Jan Dees and René van der Star

The exhibition was compiled by the Rijksmuseum with guest curator Jan Dees, whose PhD thesis focused on Japanese lacquer from the 1890-1950 period. Over four decades, he and his partner René van der Star have assembled the leading international collection that forms the heart of this exhibition.

Books

The exhibition is accompanied by the English catalogue Breaking out of Tradition: Japanese Lacquer 1890-1950 written by Jan Dees and published by Hirmer Verlag.

Vital support

The Rijksmuseum is grateful for all forms of support it receives. Government subsidies, corporate contributions and support from funds, as well as donations, legacies and Friends are, and will remain, essential to the Rijksmuseum.