The Japanese Renaissance at the Uffizi

“The Japanese Renaissance. Nature in painted screens from the XV to the XVII centuriey” the exhibition dedicated to Japanese art that inaugurated at the Uffizi on the 3rd of October will go on until January the 7th.
The display consists of folding screens and sliding doors, coming from temples and museums of Japan, 39 extremely delicate masterpieces made of paper.
Precious works, representing landscapes and nature, many of which are considered national treasures and are difficult to see even in Japan since they are not exposed to the public due to their delicate nature. In order to preserve their integrity, in fact, the artworks are displayed in rotations of 13 pieces at a time.
They are characteristic folding screens (byōbu) and sliding doors (fusumae), typical of the Golden Age of Japanese art between the Muromachi period and the early Edo period, when two very different main styles coexisted: on the one side, a monochrome painting style made of swift thin lines and of empty spaces, that are given great importance as the Zen philosophy wants, fundamental to the composition and poetics of the image; on the other side a more traditional Japanese style, with gold backgrounds on which landscapes and delicate natural elements appear, drawing inspiration from the paintings of the Kano tradition where the artist “paints” the time in the form of flowers, plants, animals and landscapes with bright colors.
On display, there are landscapes executed by masters like Hasegawa Tōhaku, Kaihō Yūshō and Unkoku Tōgan. In particular, by the great master Hasegawa Tōhaku, one of most important Japanese painters that ever lived, we find a "Lespedeza and eulalia" in ink and color and the famous "Cypress Forest", an amazingly poetic work that alone is worth a visit to the exhibition. An exhibition composed of elegant artworks that express the beauty and fickleness of the universe and lead us on a path that brings us all closer to nature, uniting both Easterners and Westerners in the contemplation of pure beauty and harmony.

Uffizi Gallery
Until January 7
Ticket for Uffizi Gallery + the Japanese Renaissance exhibition: 16,50 €