Sakamoto Hanjiro went to France in 1921, at thirty-nine. He studied with Charles Guérin at the Académie Colarossi, but quit after half a year to concentrate on painting until he returned to Japan in 1924. While Sakamoto is known for his cows, horses, moons, and still lifes, in Europe he made many paintings of the human figure.
Here the model is wearing a jacket with a wide, open collar and is holding a broad-brimmed hat; her form conveys stability. The button at her chest and the roundness of the hat interact rhythmically. The viewer is made aware, moving upward, of the hat, the button, her left eye, and then where the model’s gaze is directed, creating a sense of expansive space. Her hair, clothing, and hat are all in mild shades of brown; the color planes applied to her clothing and the basic color scheme accent each other. The green in the background adds a bit of brightness.
This painting was shown in 1923, in a corner of the Salon d'automne at the Grand Palais was devoted to an exhibit of a decade of Nika Exhibition work. Sakamoto hung a “No visitors” sign on the door of his room as he worked intently to complete it. This work, said to have been modeled on Woman with a Pearl (1868-70, Louvre) by Camille Corot, whom Sakamoto admired, is the masterwork of his period in Europe. Compared with earlier works, the split planes of color are emphasized and the picture is more decorative. To Sakamoto, it was a daring change in the style he was working toward.