With Valentine's Day just past, let's pay tribute to one of the most enduring love affairs of our time -- that between Japan's gallery-going public and France's Impressionist artists. It's the Real Thing.
Why else are there long lines for the Bunkamura's new exhibition, "Monet and Renoir: Two Great Impressionist Trends"? Why is the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park hosting a large exhibition focused on Monet? And how is it that the granddaddy of Impressionism, Camille Pissarro, is not only included at the Bunkamura and the Met, but also has a show all to himself at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store gallery? Japan, it seems, just can't get enough.
How much is not enough? In total, there are 80 works at the Met, 80 at the Bunkamura and 100 at Mitsukoshi. If you like statistics, that includes 31 by Monet, 35 by Renoir, 40 by Berthe Morisot and a whopping 60 by Pissarro. Does Japan really need so much of the Impressionists?
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