Claude Monet: La Japonaise, Madame Monet en costume japonais (1876) (public domain)
After protests Boston’s “Museum of Fine Arts” had to cancel their “Kimono Wednesdays”. As a part of their exhibition featuring Monet’s “La Japonaise”, visitors have their photographs taken in front of the paining in a replica of the kimono shown in it.
Monet’s painting is part of the French Japonisme that was heavily influenced by Japanese art that was exported after the country became open to international trade. While this might have been thought to give visitors a way of connecting with the artwork, protesters say that the museum engages in “yellowfacing” and furthering orientalist discourse instead of taking the opportunity to talk about the fetishization of other cultures.
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