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FÉLIX ÉLIE RÉGAMEY
Frankrike 1844-1907
Le grand tori-i de Nikko (The Great Gate at Nikko)
Signerad and daterad Fx Regamey 78. Lavering på pannå av papp, 21.5 x 31 cm.

LITTERATUR:
Èmile Guimet & Felix Régamey: Promenades japonaises. Tokio-Nikko, Vol. II, 1878, kapitel XXXV, "Temples et Foréts", "Le grand tori-i de Nikko", reproducerad på helsida mellan sidorna 234-235


Félix Régamey´s original for "Le grand tori-i de Nikko" reproduced in Èmile Guimet & Felix Régamey "Promenades japonaises. Tokio-Nikko", 1878 (op. cit.) (fig. 1-2).

Félix Régamey was the first French artist to visit Japan after it opened up to the Western world during the start of the Meiji period (1868), following a trade agreement in 1854 between Japan and the USA, having been a closed society for westerners from 1600. Régamey travelled through Japan in 1876 together with Èmile Guimet (1836-1918), the French industrialist and connoisseur whom had been commissioned by the French minister of public instruction to study the religions of the Far East. The journey was to become of great significance in the development of Japonism in France and Europe during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

The Great Gate at Nikko markes the entrance to the Futarasan Shrine at the Shrines and Temples of Nikko located in Tochigi Prefecture, in the northern part of Japan´s Kanto region (fig. 3). The gate is made of copper and was erected in 1799. The Shrines and Temples of Nikko form a single complex composed of one hundred three religious buildings within two Shinto shrines (The Tôshôgû and The Futarasan-jinja) and one Buddhist temple (The Rinnô-ji) located in an outstanding natural setting. The religious buildings, many of which were constructed in the 17th century, are arranged on the mountain slopes so as to create different visual effects. The first buildings were constructed on the slopes of the sacred Nikko mountains by a Buddhist monk in the 8th century. Nine of the structures are designated National treasures of Japan while the remaining 94 are registered Important Cultural Properties. In 1999 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Régamey began his career as a press cartoonist, working for a number of French publications.1 In September 1870, he founded the ephemeral Salut Public. His involvement in the commune of Paris after the failure of the insurrection forced him into exile. He was aided financially by his friends Rimbaud and Verlaine and left for London where he came to work for Illustrated London News. In 1876 he visited the World Fair Exhibition in Philadelphia where he met Èmile Guimet, whom engaged him as illustrator on his planned trip to the Far East. Together they begun a journey that would take them to Japan, China, South East Asia and India. They departed for Japan from San Francisco in the autumn 1876. Their residence permit was for two months. In Japan they travelled from Tokyo to Nikko. They visited a number of temples and met with many monks, but also saw a number of dance and theatre shows (fig. 5). Régamey recorded the journey meticulously in his sketch books (fig. 4). About the Shrines and Temples of Nikko, Guimet wrote (op. cit., pp. 234-36):

"A travers cet entassement de merveilles, le visiteur éprouve une sorte de vertige, il y a un moment où l´on se demainde quand va finir la série des étonnements, quand va finir la série des ascensions, il semble que c´est au ciel que tot cela va aboutir et les pèlerins impressionnés peuvent de bonne foi se croire en route pour le paradis."

The entire journey to the Far East lasted for ten months. Throughout the journey Guimet purchased numerous religious objects, manuscripts and art works with the intention to create a museum for religions.

In 1878 Guimet exhibited some of the works he had collected in an oriental exhibit at the Universal Exhibition at the Trocadero in Paris together with works by Régamey based on sketches from the journey (fig. 6). With the publication of "Promenades japonaises. Tokio-Nikko", I-II, the same year, Régamey´s oriental work became widely known.

In 1879 Guimet founded Musée Guimet. The museum was first located at Lyon but was handed over to the state and transferred to Paris where it opened in 1889 (fig. 7). Musée Guimet, also known as Musée National des Arts Asiatiques, holds the largest collection in the world outside Asia of oriental art.

In 1881 Régamey was appointed design inspector of the Parisian schools. On 16 April 1884 Régamey and Guimet arranged a conference in Paris entitled "Le Théâtre au Japon" and on 26 November 1896, the play Les Yeux clos, by Michel Carré, opened at Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris, which was based on a Japanese legend provided by Régamey. Régamey´s passion for Japan never diminished. He was a member of the Société Franco-Japonaise in Paris and throughout his life he illustrated and published numerous books about Japan and Japanese art.2

An exhibition on Guimet´s and Régamey´s journey through Asia, "Vagabond Investigation: Félix Régamey and Émile Guimet in Asia", was held at Musée Guimet, Paris between 6 December-12 March 2018.3

1. Le Journal Amusement, La Vie Parisienne, Le Monde Illustré, L´Illustration, Le Petit Journal pour wire, Paris-Caprice etc.
2. "Okoma", after a text by Bakin Takizawa, 1883, "Le Cahier rose de Mme Chrysanthème", 1894, "Dessins d'après nature et documents originaux", vers 1900 and "Japon", 1903. He was also co-author and illustrator of "Le Japon pratique", 1891, "Le Dessin et son enseignement dans les écoles de Tokio", 1902 and "Le Japon en images, Dessins d'après nature et documents originaux", after 1900
3. For further reading see E. Conant, "The French Connection. Èmile Guimet´s Mission to Japan, a Cultural Context for Japonisme", in "Japan in Transition. Thought and Action in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912", edited by Conroy, Davies and Patterson, 1985, pp. 113-146

Fig. 1-2.

Auktionsnummer:

334

Datum:

2018-12-05