Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2014

Bunkamura’s The Museum is celebrating 25 years of bringing some of the world’s best art to Shibuya. It chose to start its silver anniversary with an extensive exhibition dedicated to Puvis de Chavannes, a key French painter of the late 19th century who had a significant impact on the evolution of Western-style painting in Japan. We visited the morning of January 2, the first day of the exhibition, and were greeted with the pleasant rarity of a Tokyo museum that wasn’t packed with people queuing up to view each work. The artist is best known for his expansive murals, which of course are more or less permanently attached to buildings in France, most notably the Pantheon in Paris. These are represented by oversized, extremely high-definition photos on display, while most of the exhibition is devoted to sketches and canvas studies the artist created for his murals such as the Study for Charity (pictured). These give the visitor a unique insight into the process of the artist, which a tourist in Paris wouldn’t necessarily pick up. The final room of the exhibition space is given to works by Japanese artists influenced by de Chavannes including Seiki Kuroda, who traveled to Paris, and Mango Kobayashi, whose replica of a de Chavannes work is on display.

Until Mar 9, ¥700-1,400. Open Mon-Thu & Sun 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm. 2- 24-1 Dogenzaka. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-3477-9111. www.bunkamura.co.jp