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Americans at Play, from an untitled series of pictures of foreigners, labeled with roman letters

Americans at Play, from an untitled series of pictures of foreigners, labeled with roman letters

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Utagawa Yoshifuji

Yoshifuji, whose works are fairly rare, was a major pupil of Kuniyoshi. His signature on this print includes his teacher’s distinctive artist seal of kiri. He produced many Yokohama-e and this untitled series of the five treaty nations was one of his most celebrated. It is distinctive for using the Roman alphabet in the title cartouche, with Japanese characters to the right to aid pronunciation. Americans at Play depicts a family of four—father, mother, and two children. The mother’s costume includes strange details that were unlikely worn by an American woman, such as elaborate earrings and an oversized hat. Few designers of Yokohama-e ever saw real foreigners, and factual or documentary accuracy was secondary to fantastic elements that increase exotic appeal of the prints.
Artist
Utagawa Yoshifuji
(Japanese, 1828 - 1887)
Title
Americans at Play, from an untitled series of pictures of foreigners, labeled with roman letters
Date
1861
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
14 3/4 x 9 15/16 in. Support
Credit
John H. Van Vleck Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
2002.97
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 192, no. 182
  • Hitachi, Ltd. "Ukiyoe" [calendar]. Japan: Hitachi, Ltd., 2009. September

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

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