The fifth section of the exhibition presents an extraordinary phenomenon, where the search for boundaries does not lead the artists toward the distant, but instead those boundaries become proximity, closeness, an intimate connection with images that would otherwise seem far away. On display are around forty extraordinary Japanese woodblock prints, arranged in two successive sequences so as not to expose these precious sheets to light for too long. They come from a single private collection, featuring the greatest names of ukiyo-e, from Utamaro to Eisen, from Hokusai to Hiroshige.

Thus, it is Japanese figurative culture—so captivating—that extends its boundary into Europe, with colors that would remain unforgettable. It is especially in the 1860s, immediately after Japan opened itself to the world, that knowledge of the country’s art became central in Europe, and many of the great fairs displayed hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of objects and artifacts. France, without a doubt, is the nation that more than any other saw in Japanese art a source of immense inspiration, as this occasion demonstrates.

At the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition, more than five thousand sheets of color woodblock prints were presented. Most of them had been specially commissioned for the occasion, but, of course, there was also a fine selection of historical masters, from Utamaro to Hokusai to Hiroshige. The Exposition was a huge success, attracting more than nine million visitors.

European, and even American, artists acquired Japanese woodblock prints in Paris, purchasing them especially from the shop of a German dealer, Siegfried Bing, who—thanks to family connections—was for a long time the only person able to obtain them directly from Japan. Bing is mentioned repeatedly in the correspondence of several of the painters featured in the exhibition, starting with Monet and Van Gogh, both of whom owned many hundreds of these prints. Art—and French art above all—was deeply influenced by them. The boundary stretched beyond the oceans, reaching those with the right spirit to embrace that enchanted world.