When Japan opened its port to international trade in the 1850s and emerged from centuries of self-imposed isolation, Japanese prints, albums and objects arrived in Europe and North America in unprecedented quantities. In the frenzy of collecting and admiration that followed, Japanese art caught the eye of designers and artists seeking fresh solutions to artistic problems. 

This video explores the shared artistic devices in the Japanese and Western artworks on view  in  Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and Other Western Artists.