French photographer 1861

This woodblock print by Utagawa Yoshikazu, titled "French photographer," depicts a Western photographer, likely a man, taking a portrait of a fashionable Japanese woman. The artist uses bright colors and exaggerated features, characteristic of the ukiyo-e style, to satirize the fascination with Western fashion and technology in Japan during the 1860s. The scene is humorous and reflects the cultural exchange and changing perceptions of the period. This work is an example of the artist’s later work, which often focused on contemporary subjects, and now resides in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.