Catalog record · 目録番号 136059
Ships Leaving a Port in Holland
Catalog note / 解説
This woodblock print of ships leaving a port in Holland reveals the 18th-century Japanese fascination for scenes of the ‘exotic West’. The scene was probably copied from an image imported into Japan by the Dutch, who were the only Europeans permitted to trade in the country at this time. Certainly the artist would not have visited Holland: leaving Japan was forbidden on pain of death. The print utilises Western linear perspective, still a novel pictorial device in Japan towards the end of the 1700s. The use of light and shade to convey volume is another mark of Western influence in this print.
Image record / 画像情報
VAM · 18th century · vam
The catalog page is text-only. The reviewed image is available in the Ukiyo-e app for iPhone and iPad.