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Reformation period – but all Mediaevalists mourned for the beauty and
integrity they felt had been present in Gothic art and architecture that was
now missing from contemporary Western design. Japan in its untainted,
medieval state represented the Gothic Ideal both philosophically and in
regard to the aesthetics and quality of production of their art and crafts. As
noted by Victorian artist and designer Walter Crane:
The opening of Japanese ports to Western commerce… had an enormous
influence on European and American art. Japan [was]… a country… as regards its
arts and handcrafts… in the condition of the Middle Ages with wonderfully skilled
craftsmen…. What wonder that it took Western artists by storm and that its effects
have become so patent. 19
The extent of influence that the introduction of Japanese aesthetics, art,
crafts, design, and methods of manufacture to the West had on Western
artists, designers and craftspeople cannot be underestimated. The collecting
of Japanese wares, or Japonaiserie, became an absolute craze, and the
Western phenomenon known as Japonisme (or Japonism) in art, design, and
the performing arts was widespread and long-lasting. Some of the most
noted figures of this movement were J. A. M. Whistler (Figs 18, 20, 22, 23 &
28), Claude Monet (Figs 25 & 26), D. G. Rossetti, Walter Crane, Vincent
van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Charles Rennie Mackintosh,
Margaret Macdonald, Christopher Dresser, William Moorcroft, Arthur
Silver, Tissot, Degas, Renoir, Mucha, Klimt and Frank Lloyd Wright.
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