Japanese Art as Diplomacy and Collectible: The Dual Lives of Painting Manuals in Belgian Institutions

Terryn, Freya
(2025) Fourth Conference European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA) — Location: University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal (8.September.2025)

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This presentation examines Japanese woodblock-printed painting manuals from the mid-17th to early 20th centuries through a focused study of Hokusai Manga. Preserved in Belgian collections at UCLouvain (Louvain-la-Neuve) and the Royal Museum of Art and History (Brussels), the work exemplifies manuals that transmitted artistic lineages, techniques, and visual knowledge. The paper contrasts two collection histories: a post–World War I Japanese governmental donation and private collecting during the height of Japonisme. By tracing Hokusai Manga’s shifting functions—from self-instruction in Japan to a curated cultural object in Belgium—the study highlights contrasts between cultural diplomacy and Western fascination.
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Terryn, F. (2025). Japanese Art as Diplomacy and Collectible: The Dual Lives of Painting Manuals in Belgian Institutions. Fourth Conference European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA), University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.