Abstract

The intense commerce developped after 1853 between Japan and the West, has its
contribution both in the industrialization and the development of modern Japan, and in the
establishment of the main visual discourse of Impressionist painters. The ethereal image
depicted in the woodblock prints by Hiroshage and Hokusai, the Japanese artefacts as
kimonos and fans, had a huge impact on the creation of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Manet,
Monet. The spread of the Impressionism all over Europe reached a subsequent influence
including in modern Romania. One of the most eloquent proof of this thesis of Japonisme
in Impressionism all over Europe is the case of the painter Samuel Mützner.

Key words: Impressionism, Japonisme, Woodblock prints, Hokusai, plein-air,

expedition, Samuel Mützner