I. Japanese art collaged: The zenith of Japonisme

This segment presents works from the heyday of Japonisme, mainly from the field of crafts, including works by artists other than Gallé.
It will focus on works by Gallé showing distinct uses of motifs from Japanese ukiyo-e and crafts. It will also examine ways in which Japanese motifs were perceived and incorporated graphically into European crafts.

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II. Japanese art concealed: The fusion with Western forms of expression

From the 1880s, Gallé's Japonisme began to shift away from external manifestations. While he continued to incorporate elements of Japanese art during this period, he attempted to fuse them with Western forms of expression. This segment presents Gallé's interest in the tactile sensibilities reflected in Japanese crafts, the Japanese eye for fleeting, precious living things, and the combination of painting and poetry elements he harmonized with modes of expression rooted in his own country.

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III. Japanese spirit integrated: Drawing inspiration from nature

Around 1900, Gallé's Japonisme deepened further, and had tremendous influence on establishing his original artistic approach. This segment will look at the ways in which the Japanese artistic concepts of deriving shapes from nature itself, exquisite composition, and mono no aware (sensitivity to things) were sublimated in Gallé.

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IV. Gallé and the dragonfly

Gallé often used the dragonfly as a motif throughout the thirty years of his artistic life. During the heyday of Japonisme, particularly in France, Japanese art aficionados considered the dragonfly to be a symbol of Japan. (In shape, Japan was believed to resemble dragonflies mating, hence it was once called Akitsushima, the ancient Japanese word for a dragonfly.) Footed Cup, "Dragonfly" Gallé made shortly before his death went to his closest friends and relatives, as if they were made as a last testament. The last chapter is for looking back on Gallé's artistic life through the dragonfly.

*Click on the photograph for a larger image.