The Adoption of Japanese Imagery in Catalan Art Nouveau Stained Glass

Abstract In the late nineteenth century, Catalonia witnessed an exponential increase in the use of and predilection for the designs and aesthetic characteristics of Japanese art in the design of stained glass. At the time, oriental forms were received with enthusiasm, which resulted in the development of production of artistic stained glass, inspired by these new models. This article focuses on the different ways in which Japanese-based designs made their way from Japan to the stained glass workshops of Catalonia, where they were transformed into spectacular pieces, some of which are still preserved today. In addition, the article examines how stained glass makers assimilated the aesthetics and compositional concepts of Japanese art and made them their own, adapting them to their needs while creating innovative stained glass that helped them to, paradoxically, converge with the medieval stained glass on which they were based.