The introduction of Bonsai to Italy -Adolfo Farsari-
While bonsai has widespread and become a well-known thing in Italy, it is normal to think when and what is the original trigger that bonsai was introduced to Italy. It actually dates back to the 1880s, about 130 years ago with a guy called Adolfo Farsari.
(The following sentences are cited from "Adolfo Farsari – The Man Who Shot Old Japan" http://quazen.com/arts/photography/adolfo-farsari-the-man-who-shot-old-japan/#ixzz0p8XjIIkU")
In the 1880s at a time when most Europeans were denied access to the Japanese interior an Italian photographer managed to capture many images of Old Japan. These were then beautifully and realistically hand painted and serve as a remarkable record of a world long since disappeared.
Adolfo Farsari was very much a commercial photographer and his compositions were designed to be sold mostly to foreign visitors to Japan. His landscapes often picture what we might call a slightly enhanced version – even romanticized – of Japan but were very highly regarded at the time. Something of a libertarian, Farsari had joined the American Civil War as he was a fervent abolitionist and his photographs reflect his ideas of equality – women are portrayed as often as men and not in subservient positions. For many people who had never been to Japan his images would shape their ideas of the country – and to some degree they would also contribute to the ways in which the Japanese regarded themselves.
