A fashionable white woman dominates a dreamlike print while miniature Japanese men offer a fan and teacup among papers, an open album, and a hanging lantern.

1881 · Drypoint

Japonisme

Henri Somm

Why it matters

Somm visualises Japonisme as both a collection of desirable objects and a fantasy that reduces Japanese people to miniature attendants within a European consumer’s imagination.

Publication
Independent drypoint
Holding institution
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Drawings and Prints
Shelfmark
67.539.201
Rights
Public Domain; The Met Open Access

Citation

Henri Somm. Japonisme. 1881. Drypoint. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 67.539.201.