19th century Japanese photographers often hired painters to hand color their photographs in order to create more arresting images. These painters were often extremely talented artists in their own right. This image, of a craftsman applying a first touch of red paint to the parasol he is making, is a perfect example of this extremely high level of artistic sensibility. The brilliant white light emanating from the parasol (possibly representative of the parasol’s use in reflecting the sun) creates a luminous effect that was not possible to achieve through photography alone.
