An American Drawn from Life 1861

This woodblock print was made by Utagawa Yoshitomi in 1836. In it, we see an American man on horseback, a striking image for the artist's Japanese audience. The figure on horseback is a recurring motif throughout history, symbolizing power, authority, and conquest. Consider the equestrian statues of Roman emperors, where the rider embodies strength and control. Here, the American man's posture and attire signal a similar claim to dominance. But notice also the man running alongside the horse. Is he enslaved? Subservient? We have to ask, what is the psychological impact of the encounter between the colonizer and the colonized? What anxieties and aspirations are triggered in both the artist and the viewer? This motif will continue to resurface, evolving and taking on new meanings in different historical contexts.