Source: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai_02/bss_visnav01.html
Source
This an image of a watercolor done by William Heine. Perry was very important part of in the opening to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa, Japan in 1854. Heine was there to record Perry's journey and this image depicts a moment from it. This image shows Commodore Perry being welcomed by the Shogun's representatives. Perry is standing in front of his followers surrounded by Japanese soldiers. The Shogun and his representatives are waiting for the Commodore to enter the tent. The blue uniforms worn by soldiers and the flag signify that they are American. In the tent, you can see representatives on their knees with the Shogun and two other men standing behind them. The representative of the Shogun bowing to Perry signifies respect to both Perry and his men. Perry standing in the front of the line signifies that he is clearly the leader of the men behind him. The outfit of the man standing next to Perry is a signifier for him being a samurai. The hand of the samurai standing next to Perry shows that he is allowed to enter. The action of the samurai signifies that he is a highly respected and trusted samurai of the Shogun because he is escorting them in. The Shogun figure is painted shady which is connotation for being mysterious, unknown, and hinting a possibility of evil. The figure being portrayed like that signifies that the dealings between the Commodore and the Shogun may not be a good thing and maybe a little bit risky because you do not know what you will get with the Shogun.
I agree that Perry is being given great attention to in this image, something I think would be typical of Heine's work, as this is also how he must have thought of Perry. I also think Heine gave the Japanese a very otherworldy feel, complimenting their light dress with a light background, which makes them look a little illusionary and exotic.
ReplyDelete(Also, sorry for the late comments!)
Ok thanks
ReplyDeleteHey, so my first comment didn't post from a few days ago but I'm gonna try again and hopefully it sticks. I thought your analysis of small interactions in the picture was really cool. You caught a lot of small stuff that was interesting to look at more closely. I think it'd be interesting to then tie that together and talk about the overall mood or the overall implications of the scene also.
ReplyDeleteSounds good thanks
ReplyDeleteSomething to consider about a painting is that everything about it is deliberate. Nothing just "gets" on the cavas with out Heine wanting it there. With that in mind, I thought the contrast (similar to Emily's comment) between the American soliders and the Shogun is quite stark. Their tent seems like it's an Enlightenment Club or something like that - the purity of those colors! The Americans? Ah... those guys look evil. Even their stature suggests uncomfortable force, the Shogun seem to be fully relaxed.
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