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Georges Bigot and Japan, 1882-1899
Title
Georges Bigot and Japan, 1882-1899
Subtitle
Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire
Editors
Price
€ 124,00 excl. VAT
ISBN
9781898823759
Format
Hardback
Number of pages
256
Language
English
Publication date
Dimensions
21.5 x 30 x 2 cm
Categories
Art and Material Culture
East Asia and North East Asia
Discipline
Asian Studies
Also available as
eBook PDF - € 123,99
Table of Contents
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Foreword
by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
PART I : TWO BIOGRAPHIES
Introduction: Georges Bigot – Satirist of Meiji Japan and Artist Extraordinaire by Christian Polak
Charles Wirgman (1835–1891): Artist, Journalist and Caricaturist – Forerunner to Georges Bigot in Japan by Hugh Cortazzi
PART II : ALBUMS AND ENGRAVINGS
Georges Bigot’s ‘Eternal Japan’
ASA Complete album
O-Ha-Yo Complete album (excluding ASA duplications)
Croquis Japonais Complete album
PART II Continued : OILS, WATERCOLOURS, GOUACHES AND PASTELS
PART III : FROM TO–BAÉ TO THE GRAPHIC
Georges Bigot’s ‘Modern Japan’
Tôbaé
Tôbaé Sport
La Journée d’une Guesha à Tokio Complete album
Le Potin
Potins de Yoko
La Vie Japonaise
Scènes de la Vie Japonaise Twelve dinner plates
Sketches from Siberia
Selection of Georges Bigot’s illustrations for The Graphic
PART IV : FROM LA VIE EN ROSE TO TRADITIONAL PATTERNS
Georges Bigot’s New Life in France
La Vie en Rose
Images d’Épinal
L’Illustration
Dans l’Oreille de Bouddha
Shocking au Japan
Journal des Voyages
L’Indiscret
Le Petit Parisien
‘Le chemin de la gloire’
L’Album Marian
Coup de Balai
Villégiatures
Draft sketches for Bigot’s Almanach des Postes et des Télégraphes series
Proposed illustrations for Pierre Loti’s Les Derniers Jours de Pékin
Traditional design patterns
Bibliography
• Catalogues of the principal exhibitions relating to the works of Georges Bigot
• Publications about Georges Bigot
• List of albums of copperplate engravings and of humorous or satirical journals published periodically in Japan by Georges Bigot
• Journals and reviews to which Georges Bigot contributed in Japan
• Books illustrated by Georges Bigot published in Japan
• Illustrated books or compositions by Georges Bigot published in France or other countries
• Journals and reviews to which Georges Bigot contributed, published in France or outside Japan
Index

Christian Polak, Hugh Cortazzi (eds)

Georges Bigot and Japan, 1882-1899

Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire

Incorporating over 250 illustrations, this is the first comprehensive study in English of French artist and caricaturist George Ferdinand Bigot (1860-1927) who, during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, was renowned in Japan but barely known in his own country. Even today, examples of his cartoons appear in Japanese school textbooks. Inspired by what he saw of Japanese culture and way of life at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878, Bigot managed to find his way to Japan in 1882 and immediately set about developing his career as an artist working in pen and ink, watercolours and oils. He also quickly exploited his talent as a highly skilled sketch artist and cartoonist. His output was prodigious and included regular commissions from The Graphic and various Japanese as well as French journals. He left Japan in 1899, never to return. The volume includes a full introduction of the life, work and artistry of Bigot by Christian Polak, together with an essay by Hugh Cortazzi on Charles Wirgman, publisher of Japan Punch. Wirgman was Bigot’s ‘predecessor’ and friend (he launched his own satirical magazine Tôbaé in 1887, the year Japan Punch closed). Georges Bigot and Japan also makes a valuable contribution to Meiji Studies and the history of both Franco- and Anglo-Japanese relations, as well as the role of art in modern international relations.
Editors

Christian Polak

Christian Polak is a distinguished scholar and businessman. He is the author of numerous books and essays on the history of Franco-Japanese relations with particular reference to the nineteenth century. He is an associate-researcher at l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales of Paris and an associate-professor at the School of Politics Sciences of Meiji University in Tokyo.

Hugh Cortazzi

Sir Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG, was British Ambassador to Japan 1980-1984 and Chairman of The Japan Society, London, 1985-1995. He has written extensively on Japan. His many books include Isles of Gold: Antique Maps of Japan (1983), The Japanese Achievement (1990) and his memoir Japan and Back and Places Elsewhere (1998). He compiled and edited seven volumes of Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, most recently volume X (2016).

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