Perspective Picture: The Bell which Resounds for Ten Thousand Leagues in the Dutch Port of Furankai c. 1800 - 1805

Curator: This intriguing print is titled "Perspective Picture: The Bell which Resounds for Ten Thousand Leagues in the Dutch Port of Furankai" by Utagawa Toyoharu. Editor: It's remarkably serene. The flat planes of color, the horizon line bisecting the scene… there's a dreamlike quality to it. Curator: Toyoharu, active in the late 1700s, was fascinated by Western perspective. He saw the potential of using Western pictorial techniques in Japanese art. Editor: The perspective is certainly unique, almost playful. The buildings seem flattened, and the water, a pale, uniform expanse. Curator: Furankai is an old Japanese name for Venice. This work reflects the cultural fascination with foreign lands and the integration of new ideas. Editor: I notice the restricted palette; the ochre, pink, blue, and how they are contained in the architectural and watery shapes. It feels very deliberate and controlled. Curator: The bell in the title likely refers to the symbolic resonance of Venice as a distant, almost mythical place in the Japanese imagination. Editor: It certainly makes me consider how much of our perception is shaped by the artistic lens through which we view the world.