Georges Ferdinand Bigot

Georges Ferdinand Bigot (Paris, 1860 - 1927) arrived in Japan in 1881, where he immersed himself very quickly in Japanese life by learning the language, customs, and artistic practices of the country. "In the district of Kojimachi, there is a French artist named Bigot who arrived recently in Japan; he invites home dustmen, street singers or itinerant merchants, and sketches them (…)".

Indeed, Bigot published four albums of leather engravings in Yokohama: ASA (40 plates) and OHA-YO (27 plates) in 1883; MATA (20 plates) in 1884; Croquis Japonais (of which there are several different versions) in 1886. The artist realized 31 albums of caricatures called the caricaturist of the Meiji era.