Hiramatsu in Giverny, Tribute to Claude Monet

In 2013, as part of the second Normandy Impressionist Festival, the musée des impressionnismes Giverny dedicated a solo exhibition to the Japanese artist Hiramatsu Reiji (born in Tokyo in 1941), entitled "Hiramatsu, The Lily Pond. Homage to Monet." The works, displayed for the first time in France, were a great addition to the young institution's collection and returned to the geographical space where they first took shape.

He decided to visit the house and garden of the master of French Impressionism in Giverny. "I was seized with a violent emotion. I thought that if you folded these canvases across you would end up with screens. I wondered what could have possibly prompted Monet to choose the pond, the water lilies and other plants in his garden as a motif for such large-format paintings. So I decided to travel to Giverny to solve this puzzle. I walked around the pond many times and suddenly I realised that Monet Monet had purposefully given it the shape of a hand mirror, which was so popular with Japanese women during the Edo period."(Hiramatsu Reiji in Brigitte Koyama-Richard, “Hiramatsu Reiji, a Nihonga Painter’s Homage to Claude Monet), in "Hiramatsu, The Lily Pond. Homage to Monet," cat. exp. (Giverny, musée des impressionnismes, July 13–October 31, 2013), Giverny, musée des impressionnismes, Ghent, Snoeck Editions, 2013, p. 20).

Hiramatsu tirelessly returns to Giverny. He walks the garden, throughout the seasons, to better understand the work of Monet. During his strolls, he fills his notebooks with sketches. He immerses himself in these drawings when he returns to his studio.

As a result, landscapes of water and reflections have become one of his favorite motifs.

The artist reinvents his art in a unique way. He tries out new formats—square or elongated—and adopts the "tondo" (circular shape) used by Claude Monet in 1907 and 1908.

In Hiramatsu's work, we find some of the tricks developed by Monet, such as the use of enormous dimensions, decorative qualities, and a lack of perspective.

His adoration of light shines through. In this work, the artist chose to apply gold leaf to depict Giverny's sparkling airglow and India ink to draw foliage contours intertwined with willow branches.

But some elements differ from the master of French Impressionism. Hiramatsu's works are filled with interpretations of what he sees, such as cherry-blossom petals barely in bloom and the arabesque mirror effects of clouds on the surface of the water, as in this work…

…or even a carpet of orange-red maple leaves on an autumn morning.

Hiramatsu Reiji's devotion to Claude Monet led him to make a number of trips to the Normandy coast, walking in the footsteps of the French master through Rouen, Le Havre, Honfleur, Étretat, Fécamp, Deauville, and Trouville.

He said that the French painter had influenced his art. "I was deeply astonished when I discovered the immensity of the 'Water Lilies' series. I then began to study Japanism with enthusiasm, from the perspective of a Nihonga painter on a journey towards Impressionism and Japanism". (Brigitte Koyama-Richard, "Le japonisme entre passé et avenir", in "La magie des estampes japonaises" Paris, Hermann, p.175).

The term "nihonga" literally means Japanese ("nihon") painting ("ga"). This painting technique was imported into Japan from China and Korea in the 7th century.

The painter uses natural, artificial, or, synthetic earth-based mineral pigments, or animal or plant-based pigments, and "gofun" (powedered calcium carbonate obtained from oyster shells).

The binder, "nikawa," which binds to pigments, is a gelatin obtained either from fish cartilage or the skin, bones or tendons of a beef. It comes in the form of sticks, leaves, filaments, or pearls. It is soaked in water for several hours, heated to a temperature of up to 70°C, then filtered.

The favourite supports are Japanese paper ("washi"), silk, canvas made out of hemp or cotton, and wood. The “dōsa”—a mixture of glue, water, and alum—is applied to the paper to allow color adhesion.
The nihonga is painted laid flat. Before the colours are applied, the outlines of the drawing are sketched out with India ink. Scraps of metal leaf—gold, silver, copper, and aluminum—can be applied to the support for decorative effect.