BURTY Philippe (EN)

The Training of an Independent Criticism

Philippe Burty (1830-1890) was a leading figure in the development of the taste for Japan in the second half of the 19th century and is known for coining the term "Japonisme" in 1872 (Weisberg G., 1993, p. 99). For more than 30 years, he distinguished himself as a herald of modernity and stimulated reflections on the renewal of the arts in France. As a dedicated Republican and networker, he forged a solid reputation as an "independent" advocate through his writings (Weisberg G., 1993). At once an art critic, collector, and inspector at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, he is remembered by posterity as a deeply committed, pugnacious personality marked by the independence of his opinions, who directly contributed to the appreciation of Impressionism and to the revival of etching and the decorative arts. Through his contribution to the emergence of innovative pictorial currents such as the Barbizon school and Impressionism, he opposed French academicism and positioned himself as a champion of new artistic paths. He was a prolific writer and contributed to more than eighteen periodicals during a career that stretched from 1857 to 1890. He was the author of the novel Grave Imprudence (1880) and the prefaces to numerous catalogues raisonnés and auction catalogues. The publication of in-depth studies such as Les Émaux cloisonnés anciens et modernes (1868) and Maîtres et Petits Maîtres (1872) enabled him to develop a substantive analytical discourse while promoting the artists and techniques that fascinated him.

Philippe Burty was the son of Marin Burty (1789-1870), owner of a popular fashion business during the Restoration (Tourneux M., 1891, p. 1) and grew up in a Protestant environment. He benefited from a solid classical education and grew up among the objects brought back from travels by his ancestors who were silk merchants. His father intended for him to study law. The 1848 revolution thwarted these plans, and after an unsuccessful attempt in the silk trade, the young Burty, who was already drawing, joined the studio of Chabal Dussurgey (1819-1902), a painter of flowers at the Gobelins manufactory (Weisberg G., 1993, pp. 2-4; Maritch-Haviland N., 2009, p. 113). This apprenticeship helped nourish and sharpen the young man’s artistic sense, provided him with a hands-on understanding of the mechanics of artisanal production, and initiated the development of a solid professional network. It was on this occasion that the future critic forged ties with artists such as the enameller and poet Claudius Popelin (1825-1892), a regular in the salon of Princess Mathilde Bonaparte (1820-1904). In this way, he trained his eye and refined his tastes. This proximity to artists and artisans had a direct influence on the quality of Burty's pieces, which were recognised for their analytical finesse and their didactic nature. In the preface he wrote for the auction catalogue for the Burty sale of paintings, watercolours and drawings in March 1891, Paul Mantz (1821-1895) wrote that the critic “always retained an invincible passion for painting and, generally speaking, for art expressed in all modes and in all languages.” This opinion was shared by the art dealer Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) when he noted "[Burty] was tirelessly the passionate support of all bold and convinced impulses".

A Social Network in Service of Artistic Convictions

A great admirer of the Romantics, in particular of Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) of whom he was an executor, and of Victor Hugo (1802-1885), with whom he maintained a regular correspondence (Georgel P., 1973), Burty was an exalted personality. The development of the press in France during the 19th century offered him the possibility of a sustained commitment suitable to his temperament. From 1859, when he joined the editorial staff of Charles Blanc (1813-1882) at La Gazette des Beaux-arts, until 1870, his critical activity was rich and dynamic. Blanc, seduced by Burty’s writing, hired him from the magazine’s inception. He entrusted him with reports on the sales at the Hôtel Drouot in the supplement Chroniques des arts et de la curiosité. This unique section allowed the columnist to consolidate his reputation through his precise style and his thoughts as a dedicated aficionado in sales, passions he maintained throughout his life and which influenced the future of his collection. It was through his series called "Japonisme" published in La Renaissance littéraire et artistique that he positioned himself as a specialist in Japan. His contributions to the English periodical The Academy also placed him beyond the intellectual spheres of France. Burty's critique is characterised by two aspects: first, by the regular chronicle of cultural news, whether trade shows or exhibitions in Paris or in the provinces; and secondly, by the promotion of artists whose work or of techniques he appreciated. This allowed him to be in close contact with collectors, buyers and sales experts as well as to continue to frequent artistic circles.

Throughout his career, Burty developed three subjects more specifically: etching, decorative arts, and Japanese art. Already in 1863, he published an article devoted to a little-known engraver, Charles Meryon (1813-1882), a risk considered presumptuous by some. However, his articles would contribute to the revelation of Meryon's etching, and Burty's other publications, notably the catalogue raisonné (1876), are considered primary sources on the subject.

The critic was skilled at deliberately soliciting the solid network he had built. Burty continued the work of promoting the subjects addressed in his articles through involvement in several associations, such as the Société des aquafortistes from 1862 (Bailly-Herberz J., 1972, p. 10), early support for the creation of the Union centrale des beaux-arts appliqués à l’industrie, and serving on the advisory committee of the Société de l'Union centrale (BMAD, A1/50-A1/52). He collaborated with personalities from artistic, political, and financial circles and maintained his status as a herald.

This network work also led to his appointment to the post of inspector at the Beaux-Arts in 1881. Léon Gambetta (1838-1882), then president of the Chamber of Deputies, offered him the position as a reward for his loyalty and republican commitments. The reports that Burty wrote for this mission (AN, F/21/2284/2) are precise. Their detailed nature demonstrates the attention he devoted to this work as well as the inspiration he drew from it for his articles. He used the same modus operandi in describing Japanese art objects.

Burty's passion for Japan was largely influenced by his interest in the decorative arts. The technical and aesthetic quality of the works sold in Parisian shops led him to reflect on the need to improve artisanal and industrial techniques in France (Weisberg G., 1993, p. 97). An analysis of the Burty collection shows that it is at the crossroads of all his reflections on artistic creation (Ponchel L., 2016). The collection of Asian works was assembled beginning in 1863and exemplifies of the practices of the first-generation "Japonistes". In his will of August 4, 1876, the critic declares that the collection should be sold at auction after his death (AN, Minutier Centrale, Étude LXXII, 02/07/1890). In March 1891, the Hôtel Drouot saw the dispersal of the first large ensemble of Japanese art brought together by a Western amateur and for a month Burty’s spirit dominated the sales hall. This auction was important in nourishing the collections of second-generation enthusiasts. As Bing wrote, "As it scatters, Burty's work will become the seed that fertilises new blossoms in its surroundings" (Bing S., 1891, p. X).

Development of an Encyclopedic Collection

The analysis of Philippe Burty's collection is limited both by this sale, which dispersed the objects in all directions, and by his practice as a collector who bought assiduously, gave out of friendship, exchanged out of interest, and resold in order to buy better. The movements of these works are rarely noted. Nevertheless, the sales catalogues and collection notes (AMDE, Archives de Philippe Burty) make it possible to establish a typology of his collection and to grasp his taste. As a collector, Burty seemed motivated by a desire to promote Japanese art as a whole, in order to show its richness, the quality of its techniques, and the possible contributions to French decorative arts. Bing divided the 3,016 pieces offered for sale into 24 categories defined by the type of object (sabre sheaths, writing utensils, inrô, etc.) or the type of material (bronze, iron, lacquer, etc). These sets were based in part on the registers of the collection that the critic wrote in notebooks, in which he recorded some of his pieces (Imai-Stassart T., 2014, p. 79). These were then sub-divided chronologically. According to the dates set by the expert, Burty collected pieces dating from the 15th century until the end of the 19th century. His earliest pieces would therefore have been produced during the Muromachi period (1336-1568), during which attention was paid to artistic refinement. The registers also list  pieces dated to the early 19th century which Burty realised were produced for the European market and of lesser quality compared to earlier pieces he was able to collect and acquire for the purposes of study.

Thus, the analysis reveals 111 categories of varied typologies and uses. Among them are lacquers, ceramics and pottery. This type of piece had already been present in France since the 18th century. Burty was particularly passionate about everything related to weaponry - tsuba, kodzuka, menouki -, the art of tea with sets of teapots and cups, as well as an assortment of 245 boxes of various uses. He collected wooden statuettes, detailed descriptions of which can be found in his notebooks (AMDE, Archives de Philippe Burty), sometimes embellished with small drawings, and small furniture such as his table screen and his stools. There is also a listing of a small assortment of fousk'sa and different fabrics with little related information.

This tabulation also illustrates the critic’s affection and eye for the tsuba or sabre sheaths praised by Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) in his memoirs (Goncourt E. de, Goncourt J. de, t. 3, p. 442). 516 pieces were put up for sale in 1891, with three of the collection’s notebooks dedicated to them. Bury generally preferred smaller pieces. For almost thirty years, he accumulated dozens of small delicate objects such as inrô or netsuke, which form two distinct categories in the catalogue. Unlike other collectors and artists, he did not acquire large pieces such as samurai armour, or even the lacquer screens for which the Japanese had become famous. He also favoured the purchase of illustrated books rather than prints, for purposes of observation. The critic's taste was rooted in the attention he paid to the details of the shape of the object or its decoration, as evidenced by his descriptions in the series of articles published in Le Japon artistique (Burty Ph., 1889).

This tabulation also illustrates the critic’s affection and eye for the tsuba or sabre sheaths praised by Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) in his memoirs (Goncourt E. de, Goncourt J. de, t. 3, p. 442). 516 pieces were put up for sale in 1891, with three of the collection’s notebooks dedicated to them. Bury generally preferred smaller pieces. For almost thirty years, he accumulated dozens of small delicate objects such as inrô or netsuke, which form two distinct categories in the catalogue. Unlike other collectors and artists, he did not acquire large pieces such as samurai armour, or even the lacquer screens for which the Japanese had become famous. He also favoured the purchase of illustrated books rather than prints, for purposes of observation. The critic's taste was rooted in the attention he paid to the details of the shape of the object or its decoration, as evidenced by his descriptions in the series of articles published in Le Japon artistique (Burty Ph., 1889).

Development of the collection in service of ideas

Most of Burty’s contemporaries who collected Japanese art, such as his long-time friend Louis Gonse (1846-1921), acquired some inrô, the small boxes worn on belts by the Japanese. Although exclusively utilitarian at first glance, inrô acquired a decorative character during the 18th century. The structure of the inrô became successively more complex, the oldest pieces being divided in two while the pieces produced in the 18th century might be composed of seven compartments. The set of 243 inrô put up for sale reflects this development. Burty's oldest pieces date from the 16th century, when this type of object became widespread in Japan. Burty was passionate about small boxes of tubular, flat, square or sloping angles, and he brought together around thirty different techniques for the 112 inrô dating from the 18th century. In his notebooks, the collector took care to detail the techniques; the inrô ensemble is thus exemplary of Burty’s quest to acquire a wide range of pieces in order to study their technical characteristics, evolution, and diversity — an approach that inspired Gonse when he wrote L’Art japonais (1883). He thus asked the critic-collector to lend him several works from his collection which were then photographed or engraved in order to illustrate the first work of its kind.

Such diversity was not however unique to Burty's collection. Goncourt’s operated on a similar distribution scheme. Indeed, the two sets share common categories, in particular netsuke, lacquers, cloisonné, even combs and hairpins. If the Goncourt collection seems smaller in size by the number of lots put up for sale, both were enriched in the same context of the discovery of Japanese art in Europe after the Sakoku. Their pieces were purchased from the same dealers (Goncourt E. de, Goncourt J. de, t. II, p. 595). The first “Japonisante" generation created a climate of competition, which was linked to their common desire to position themselves as pioneers. The difference in treatment makes it possible to distinguish the collections and is explained in particular by divergent opinions in matters of art. For example, Goncourt started with Japanese art from the 18th century, an idea that Burty like Gonse opposed. The artistic journey developed by the writer from Auteuil in La Maison d'un artiste (1881) constitutes a staging of his collections in his interior which responds to the "external vulgarity" (Launay E., 1991, p. 45 ). Here he revealed his admiration for 18th century French art and the correspondences he found with Japanese art (Pety D., 2008). Conversely, there is nothing to suggest that Burty created a specific decor for his collections. The works serve as decoration in the Batignolles apartment, but the critic's passion was described as all-consuming and made his apartment appear as a “hangar" (Weisberg G., 1993, p. 113).

An Educational Collection

In this “hangar”, the critic would receive artists curious to discover what he had amassed. These encounters gave birth to the Japonisme series, which was engraved by Félix Buhot (1847-1898). This project, launched at the end of 1874, was the result of a deep friendship and a shared taste for engraving, romanticism, and Japan. Published in 1883, this collection of ten engravings showcases objects and prints from Burty's Japanese cabinet, which were chosen for their technical quality and the different materials used. It was an important project for the engraver, which permitted him to exhibit at the Salon of 1875; it also illustrated his vocation to inspire artists.

The critic also made his collection known through his participation in major events such as the universal exhibitions and the exhibitions of the Union centrale. He thus positioned himself as one of the main representatives of Japanese art in France and furthered his didactic ambitions. His contribution is documented in five landmark events in the history of the development of taste for Japan, which punctuate the development of the collection and illustrate the perception of Japanese art by Westerners in the second half of the 19th century. His first loan was to the Musée rétrospectif of 1865, two years after he began buying Japanese art (Bing S., 1891, p. VII). This exhibition, which aimed to address contemporary questions about French decorative arts, was preparatory for the universal exhibition of 1868. The arts of Asia were included in a universalist approach. On the other hand, almost 35 years later, a few months before the critic’s death, the retrospective exhibition of Japanese engraving opened at the École des Beaux-Arts. Burty only lent a few works, but was part of the organisational committee. Japanese engraving was then the central subject and illustrated what the network of Japanese scholars had been able to accumulate in terms of knowledge over thirty years.

Burty’s Social Network in Service to His Collection

The study of his social network again seems essential to understanding the critic’s approach. The quality of Burty's writings comes from his ability to make detailed observations, coupled with a talent for mobilising other scholars. While the establishment of the Société du Jing-Lar in the wake of the Universal Exhibition of 1867 bears witness to the network of Parisian republican friends and amateurs of Japan of which Burty was a part (Bouillon J.-P., 1978, p.107-108), it was his rich correspondence that solidified this intellectual emulation. The critic communicated diligently with specialists such as William Anderson (1842-1900) and Ernest Satow (1843-1929), driven by a desire to obtain first-hand information. He was part of a network of international intellectuals committed to studying Asian arts and was recognised within it. The critic also forged close relationships with dealers, more particularly with Hayashi Tadamasa (林 忠正, 1853-1906) (Emery E., 2021, p. 29) as well as with members of official delegations such as Maeda Masana (1850-1921), commissioner general of Japan at the Universal Exhibition of 1878, and organised dinners with his wife Euphrosine. This mediation was rewarded in 1884 with the medal of the Order of the Rising Sun (旭日章), a rare honor for a non-Japanese person, which testifies to the collector’s important position (Weisberg G., 1993, p. 46-47).

Burty transmitted the fruit of this sharing through lectures, among which can be highlighted the three dedicated to "Pottery and porcelain in Japan" (“La Poterie et la porcelaine au Japon”), held in 1884 at the Union centrale des arts décoratifs. These lectures were transcribed in the Revue de l’art in December 1884 and January 1885 (pp. 385-418). The quality of his writings and his regular presentations gained him approval within academic circles. A rare consideration for a “Japonisante”, in 1873 he was invited to join the Japanese Studies Society (Sociétés d’études japonaises) by Léon de Rosny (1837-1914) (Ponchel L., 2016, p. 71-72).

Despite his many connections and his commitment to his aesthetic passions, Burty never had the opportunity to visit Japan, probably for financial reasons. This country therefore remained until the end of his life a place of dreams and fantasy. Philippe Burty must be considered as an pioneer in the history and appreciation of Japanese art in France, like Gonse, for building a historical discourse beyond the conception of Western arts through his publications and his collection. The dedication with which he acquired his knowledge perfectly illustrates his desire to build a well-supported understanding about the works he collected and more broadly his desire to contribute to the discovery of Japanese artistic culture in the West.