Putting on the Obi or Girdle

Art Historical Context

**Putting on the Obi or Girdle** (1868) is a captivating albumen print with applied color by Felice Beato, a pioneering British-Italian photographer renowned for his vivid documentation of Asia in the mid-19th century. Capturing a woman meticulously tying an obi—the wide sash essential to traditional Japanese kimono attire—this intimate scene offers a glimpse into everyday rituals during Japan's transformative Meiji era. Beato, one of the first Western photographers to work extensively in Japan after its ports opened in 1854, produced these images amid rapid modernization, blending Western photographic innovation with Eastern subjects. The albumen print medium, popular from the 1850s to 1890s, used egg whites to create sharp, luminous details on paper, while hand-applied colors brought a painterly vibrancy rare in early photography. At 22.8 × 16 cm, this modestly scaled work exemplifies Beato's ethnographic eye, preserving cultural practices on the cusp of change. His posed yet naturalistic compositions influenced how the West perceived Japan, turning photographs into collectible art objects. Today, housed in the National Gallery of Art as a gift from Michael and Jane Wilson, this piece highlights photography's power to bridge cultures. Visitors are drawn to its delicate hues and poised elegance, evoking the grace of a vanishing world. (198 words)

About the Artist

Felice Beato · 1832–1909

Felice Beato (c. 1832–1909), an Italian-born photographer who became a British subject through his family's residence on the British protectorate island of Corfu, emerged as one of the pioneering figures in war and travel photography. Born in Venice or Corfu to a Venetian noble family with roots in Corfu, Beato's early life remains somewhat obscure, but he acquired his first photographic lens in P...