Chrysant before 1896

Kazumasa Ogawa made this photograph of chrysanthemums using the collotype printing process, sometime around the turn of the 20th century. Ogawa was a pioneer of photography and printing techniques in Japan, and was instrumental in introducing these technologies to the country. The chrysanthemum held a special cultural significance in Japan. It was the symbol of the Imperial family, and was associated with longevity, rejuvenation, and nobility. The flower was often featured in art and design, and it appeared on coins, passports and official seals. By photographing the chrysanthemum, Ogawa was thus engaging with long-standing artistic traditions. In order to understand art of the past, we need to do some digging. We can start by looking at the prevailing social and cultural values of the time and place in which it was made, and then we can look at the artistic and institutional conventions that shaped its creation and reception.