Echoes of Slavery: An Analysis of Aimé Humbert’s Depiction of Courtesans in Le Japon Illustré (1870) and His Artistic Approach
Echoes of Slavery: An Analysis of Aimé Humbert’s Depiction of Courtesans in Le Japon Illustré (1870) and His Artistic Approach

Author(s): Jessica Uldry
Subject(s): Cultural history, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, 18th Century, 19th Century
Published by: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
Keywords: Aimé Humbert; Edo period; illustration; prostitution; travel book;
Summary/Abstract: Aimé Humbert was a prominent political figure in Switzerland whose account of his trip to Japan awakened renewed academic interest following the 2005 reissue of his monograph Le Japon illustré. Tales of his travels, along with illustrations of Japan, were published in 1870, providing one of the very few Swiss testimonies of the remarkable wave of illustrated works produced in the 19th century. This paper centers on an analysis of a select group of engravings related to sex work in Japanese society. Following the chronology of the narrative, this paper aims to deconstruct Humbert’s rhetoric, highlighting his creativity on a visual and textual basis. With a methodology derived from both art history and literary analysis, this analytical essay reveals the subtlety of Humbert’s critique on prostitution in Japan, where he expresses singular concerns regarding Westerners’ behavior as well as his more general position on Human Rights.

• Details
• Contents