МАЭ № 13-27

A Procession of Emperor

Japanese

1820-s

silk textile, Japanese washigami paper, Japanese watercolours, glue, brocade, paper

Mounting 61.7 × 88.7; painting 47.5 × 61.3

As Overmeer Fisscher asserts, the painting depicts a “procession of Emperor”. Perhaps, it is a wedding procession of Emperor’s bride to the dairi – residence of Emperor in Kyoto. This scene could have taken place shortly before Overmeer Fissher visited Kyoto in 1822. This type of procession in which daimyo - the feudal lords of Japan, took part, was a popular theme for many Japanese artists. What is particularly noteworthy about this painting is the artist’s use of perspective, with images of those in the distance smaller than those in front. Because of the length of the procession, it was customarily portrayed snaking back and forth to include the whole parade. In those cases, since meticulous care was taken to include the formal dress, weapons, crests, flags and other equipage, the space is highly compressed, eliminating the contrast between the foreground and background.

Ethnographic drawing