Views and Costumes of Japan
ca. 1872
Medium
Albumen silver prints with applied color
Classification
Albums
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1957, transferred from the Library
Accession Number
1991.1073.105
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of19th-century Japan with *Views and Costumes of Japan*, an exquisite album of photographs created around 1872 by Austrian photographerund von Stillfried.ed in Yokohama during Japan's Meiji era—a time of rapid modernization following centuries of isolation—Stillfried captured stunning landscapes, architectural marvels, and traditional attire, offering Western viewers a romanticized glimpse into everyday life, from geisha in kimonos to serene temples and bustling streets. Crafted as albumen silver prints with meticulously applied hand-coloring, these images blend ph...
About the Artist
Raimund von Stillfried · 1839–1911
Raimund von Stillfried (1839–1911) was an Austrian photographer who became one of the foremost Western practitioners of photography in Japan during the Meiji era. Born Baron Raimund von Stillfried-Ratenicz in Bohemia into an aristocratic family, he pursued a military career before discovering photography and making his way to East Asia in the early 1870s. He settled in Yokohama — then the principa...