Women in the 19C United States of America: The Japonisme Effect on 19C American Fashion

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

The Japonisme Effect on 19C American Fashion

Alfred Wordsworth Thompson (1840 – 1896) The Japanese Lady

Japonisme, a French term also used in English, refers to the influence of the arts of Japan on those of the West. The word was first used by Jules Claretie in his book L'Art Francais en 1872. The widespread interest in all things Japanese--art, furnishings, costume, etc.--blossomed after the opening of Japan to Western trade in 1853-54. Western woman began adopting Japanese fashions & portrait painters were excited by the new color & patterns these costumes presented. The color harmonies, simple designs, asymmetrical compositions, & flat forms of Japanese wood block prints strongly influenced the composition of Impressionist & Post-Impressionist art. Parasols, fans, kimonos, and even goldfish were staples of artists adopting some elements of Japonisme.

Arvid Nyholm (1866 – 1927) Young Woman in Kimono

Helen Maria Turner (1858 – 1958) Girl With Lantern

Joseph Rodefer DeCamp (1858 – 1923) The Blue Mandarin Coat

Lee Lufkin Kaula (1865 – 1957 The Green Shade

Lee Lufkin Kaula (1865 – 1957) The Silk Kimono

Lillian Mathilde Genth (1876 – 1953) Woman with a Japanese Lantern

Marguerite Stuber Pearson (1898 – 1978) The Music Room

Susan Ricker Knox (1874 – 1959) Japanese Tea Party

William Chadwick (1879 – 1962) Woman in Kimono

Edmund Charles Tarbell (1862 – 1938) Cutting Origami

Guy Rose (1867-1925) Blue Kimono

Robert Lewis Reid (1862-1939), Blue and Yellow

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Japanese Print 1898

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) The Japanese Book 1900

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) The Kimono 1895

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Blue Kimono 1798

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Girl in a Japanese Kimono

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Peonies 1897

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Study of a Girl in a Japanese Dress

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) The Black Kimono

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Woman in Kimono Holding a Japanese Fan

William Merritt Chase (1849 - 1916) Study for Making Her Toilet 1892

Richard Edward or Emil Miller (1875-1943) ) Woman with Umbrella.

About this blog

In colonial America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their children were raised, religious questions, & all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19Cy, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality while man’s sphere was the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”