Utagawa Yoshitoyo. Picture of Americans’ Love for Children (Amerikajin kodomo o aisu zu) / Yokohama-e, 1860.

Title: Picture of Americans’ Love for Children (アメリカ人子供愛図, Amerikajin kodomo o aisu zu)
Artist: Utagawa Yoshitoyo [一龍斎芳豊] (Japanese, 1830–1866), also known as Ichiryūsai Yoshitoyo
Signed: 一龍齋 芳豊画 (Ichiryūsai Yoshitoyo ga)
Publisher: Kikuya Ichibei [菊屋市兵衛] (Japanese, 1835–1867)
Publisher’s seal: 横山三 菊市板 (Yokoyama San, Kiku-Ichi han)
Block carver: Koizumi Kanegorō [小泉金五郎] (Japanese, fl. 1857–1866)
Carver’s seal: 小泉彫金 (Koizumi hori Kane)
Date–aratame seal: 1860 (Man’en 1) 申十二 改
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), vertical ōban, 372 × 252 mm
Genre: Yokohama-e (横浜絵)

A Western woman in elaborate foreign dress holds the hands of a small child, who gazes up at her. A man with Asian features stands beside them, holding a striped parasol — he is portrayed as a Japanese manservant or attendant. The woman wears a fitted red jacket over a voluminous yellow skirt embroidered with blue botanical motifs, and an ornate black-and-green hat decorated with long earrings and tassels.

The child wears a green and blue jacket, ruffled skirt, and pink sandals. A wide-brimmed hat with a red cloth, patterned in traditional hemp tie-dye (asanoha), hangs down from the brim like a plume.

To the right, a black dog stands attentively beside the woman, while in the background, a trained monkey-performer perches on a pole, adding a whimsical, theatrical element. The bright colors, stylized anatomy, and foreign subject matter reflect the conventions of yokohama-e — a genre that portrayed exoticized images of foreigners during Japan’s early interactions with the outside world.

Very good quality, bright colours.

Reference: Library of Congress

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