Felix Henri Bracquemond was a revolutionary artist. He was a French painter and etcher. He was a designer in pottery and textiles. He revived printmaking, including etching, and skillfully used Japanese prints to inspire designers who used them on plates, bowls, etc. This gave rise to Japanism, a movement that brought these Japanese art forms to European societies and to French ceramics, which were touched with Westernization. Bird prints were very popular in these art forms, and the style, as we can see, is drawn from “Ukiyo-e”, a Japanese art genre. Hishikawa Moronobu was the first master of it, and many impressionist artists, such as Claude Monet and Van Gogh, were heavily inspired by it. ‘Au Jardin d’acclimatation’ or translated: ‘In the Zoological Garden’ is another etched artwork that can be considered as a pioneer in Printmaking in France and French art. This print was exhibited at the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition in 1879. The subjects are two French women, from the looks of their clothes and accessories, who appear to be from affluent families. They are in a zoo, leisurely looking at birds that clearly resemble those in many Japanese prints and are strikingly different from the usual Impressionist standards. It is argued that Bracquemond was an Impressionist, yet his art forms often followed a more realist perspective than Impressionist ones. He believed in bold colours and line art, which were not found in Impressionist art. Lastly, a closer look reveals variations that might have been achieved through the inking process. Regardless of its artistic classification, the ideal of quiet luxury that comes only with leisure would have resonated deeply with the French audience at that time.
