The artwork titled, "Tuscan Sunflowers," ( located within my website and found in the collection of  Tuscan Landscapes ), is an homage to the Impressionist, Vincent Van Gogh and Japanese block prints!

     The story begins with another famous Impressionist, Claude Monet.  In 1871, Monet and his wife, Blanche, were vacationing in Holland .

One day, Monet went into a grocery store, in Zaandam, to purchase some coffee and pepper.  Upon returning home, he discovered, that his purchases were wrapped in Japanese block prints.  With such excitement, at this discovery, he returned to the store and purchased the rest of the exotic wrapping papers!  These block prints ended up framed and proudly displayed in his dining room at Giverny.

     So why were the Impressionists so drawn to the art of the early 19th century Japanese?  There are several reasons.  The first being the

"bold manner" in which the subjects were "outlined".  This idea of "outlining" the subject matter, can be seen in many of the masterpieces of Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec.  The second reason is that Japanese block prints depicted scenes of life set in beautiful, modest surroundings, often, by a river or a lake, bridges, teahouses, flowering gardens and busy streets.  These images were exactly what the Impressionists had been busily depicting in their artwork since 1806.  The Impressionists and the Japanese prints, both, embraced and reflected, the beauty, the pleasure and the leisure found in the simple and ordinary scenes of life.  

     "Tuscan Sunflowers", celebrates a simple and leisurely Tuscan landscape, with the influence of the Impressionists and the use of bold outlining, from the traditional Japanese block prints from so long ago.  Enjoy!!