Currently not on view
Currently not on view
This woodcut, along with Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1968-165-18, forms the left-hand sections of a pentaptych (five-panel) composition. Their visual connection is evident in the gray pavement that runs through the foreground of both prints. Complete sets of this pentaptych are rare because each segment is so striking as an independent image that it is not immediately apparent that it was designed to be part of a larger picture.
The man on horseback is shown entering the gate of a foreigner's residential compound in Yokohama. He is thought to be Eugene van Reed, an American who developed a close and profitable relationship with a Japanese lord of the Satsuma domain. Sadahide's portrayal of van Reed as a confident man astride his horse signifies his charismatic personality, which led to his successful negotiation of a private treaty to handle foreign trade for Satsuma.
Currently not on view
Titles: | America: Van Reed From Picture of the Residence of a Foreign Merchant from Overseas at Yokohama |
Date: | 1861 |
Artists: | Utagawa Sadahide (Japanese, c. 1807–1873) Published by Moriya Jihei (Japanese, active c. 1797–1886) Published by Kinshindō, Japan (19th century) |
Medium: | Color woodcut (panel from a pentaptych) |
Dimensions: | Sheet (Ōban tate-e): 13 7/8 × 9 1/4 inches (35.2 × 23.5 cm) |
Classification: | Prints |
Credit Line: | Print Club of Philadelphia Permanent Collection, 1965 |
Accession Number: | 1965-57-22 |
Geography: | Made in Japan, Asia |
Context: | Period: Edo Period (1615-1868) |
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Currently not on view