Henri Rivière: The French Artist Who Saw Paris Through a Japanese Lens
Henri Rivière (1864–1951) was a notable French artist recognized for maintaining a distinct style despite the evolving art scene. He was born in Paris, but his childhood was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, prompting his family to relocate to the Pyrenees. Under the guidance of Emile Bin, he adopted Impressionism, drawing inspiration from Gustave Doré. Rivière initially worked as an illustrator for Le Chat Noir, where he pioneered the successful shadow theatre technique known as ombres chinoises. He shifted his focus to printmaking, taking cues from Japanese woodcut art, and showcased his work at the Société des peintres-graveurs français. A prominent figure in French Japonisme, he organized series such as Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower. His inaugural monographic exhibition took place at the Louvre in 1921, after which he concentrated on watercolors.
Key facts
- Henri Rivière was born in 1864 and died in 1951.
- He was born ten years before the first Impressionist exhibition and died the same year as the 9th Street Show.
- Rivière studied with Emile Bin, who trained at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts and won the Second Grand Prix de Rome.
- He developed a new style of shadow theatre at Le Chat Noir called ombres chinoises.
- Rivière was inspired by Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.
- He created the series Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower (1888-1902), inspired by Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
- Rivière became close with Japanese art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi, who commissioned murals for his dining room in Tokyo.
- The first monographic exhibition on Rivière was organized in 1921 at the Pavillon de Marsan of the Louvre.
- In his late career, Rivière dedicated himself to watercolors.
Entities
Artists
- Henri Rivière
- Paul Signac
- Emile Bin
- Gustave Doré
- Katsushika Hokusai
- Utagawa Hiroshige
Institutions
- Le Chat Noir
- École des Beaux-Arts
- Société des peintres-graveurs français
- Louvre
- Musée des Arts décoratifs
- Les Harengs Saurs Épileptiques Baudelairiens et Anti-Philistins
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Pyrenees
- Montmartre
- Brittany
- Tokyo
- Japan