In the second half of the 19th century, Europe was swept by a "m

In the second half of the 19th century, Europe was swept by a "mania （狂热）for Japanese aesthetics （美学）"，said Nina Siegal in The New York Times. Closed to outsiders for centuries, Japan had opened itself up to trade and diplomacy, allowing the rest of the world to discover its unique visual culture. Artists were particularly taken with Japonisme, as it was known, and none more so than Vincent van Gogh （1853—90）. Although he never actually visited Japan, the Dutch artist developed a "fascination" with Japanese woodcut prints, collecting hundreds of examples. Increasingly attracted by Japanese culture, van Gogh studied and copied these prints, and their influence inevitably bled into his work. A new exhibition at Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum brings together nearly all of the artist's "major" Japanese-influenced works, as well as about 50 of the prints that played a role in the evolution of his "distinctive style". This show has been five years in the making, said Michael Glover in The Independent, "and it delves into （探索）this subject as never before."
Van Gogh undoubtedly had a "reverence" for Japanese printmakers like Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai, said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. Two "direct copies" he made of Hiroshige nature scenes hang alongside the originals, demonstrating the intense passion with which he studied the work. He drew on Eastern spiritual philosophy too, depicting himself as "a Japanese priest with shaven head" in a "tragic" late self-portrait. Yet I can't help feeling that the exhibition overstates the importance of Japanese art in van Gogh's work. It suggests that everything from his still life drawings to masterpieces like his "lovely" 1888 painting. The Harvest were directly inspired by the likes of Hokusai, yet both clearly owe more of a debt to Dutch painting traditions. Ultimately, the claim that van Gogh's art was transformed by Japanese culture "simply does not hold up".
I disagree, said Waldemar Januszczak in The Sunday Times. Seeing van Gogh's work paired with the Japanese prints, it's obvious they were crucial to the development of his style. He learnt compositional tricks from Japanese woodcuts, embracing their use of colour and perspective. More crucial still, they led him to create art with a "devotional relationship to nature" entirely new to European painting. This is an important and appealing show that will lead you to an "inescapable" conclusion: "Japanese art turned van Gogh into van Gogh".
11. What can we learn about Japan in the second half of the 19th century?
A、It pursued an aggressive diplomacy
B、It was unknown to European artists.
C、It was open to the outside world.
D、It restricted its trade with Europe.
【正确答案】：C
【题目解析】：文章第一段提到《纽约时报》的尼娜•西格尔表示，19世纪下半叶，欧洲被“对日本美学的狂热”所席卷。几个世纪以来对外封闭的日本开放贸易和外交，让世界其他地方发现了它独特的视觉文化。选项A 它奉行积极的外交政策文中没有提到，只是说日本开放了贸易和外交，故该表述错误；选项B 这是欧洲艺术家所不知道的，该表述错误；选项C 它对外面的世界开放，文中提到她允许世界的其他地方发现它独特的视觉文化，故该表述正确；选项D 它限制了与欧洲的贸易，该表述错误；故选C。