Landscape of Shichirigahama

Wirgman came to Japan around 1861 as a correspondent for The Illustrated London News, and later established Japan Punch in the Yokohama foreign settlement, popularizing the Punch style of satirical cartoons. Wirgman traveled around Japan in search of subject matter, and visited Kamakura on several occasions. In 1876, he traveled to Kamakura with Émile Étienne Guimet and Félix Régamey, who had contributed to the popularization of Japanese art in France. They also visited Enoshima, seen in the background here. Guimet, who was deeply moved by reverence for nature in Japanese culture, was so taken with Enoshima that he referred to it as “the sacred island.” Besides the island, the painting is full of other elements evoking Japan, including Mount Fuji in the distance, wooden boats, and figures resembling sea-diving fisherwomen. (F.R.)