The Black Fan

The woman wears a white veil over her head and holds a black fan open in both hands in front of her chest. The picture is built from a limited range of colors, the white of the veil, the black of the fan and the grayish-brown background, which makes the brightness of the face stand out all the more. Blue is applied to the shadows of the veil and to the cheeks, so that even areas that look purely white contain changes of color.

The brushwork is quick, and the folds of the veil and the ribs of the fan are expressed in thick marks made with single strokes. The restrained finish, not overworked, gives the model's expression a lively feel. The artist's signature appears at the upper left. Even the ribs of the black fan are mixed with gray and blue, so the black does not become flat.

Fujishima Takeji was a Western-style painter born in Kagoshima who taught younger artists at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts for many years. He studied in Europe for about four years, and this work, painted in 1908-09 during that stay, is a representative portrait of a woman. It was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1969.

Fujishima cherished this painting especially even in his later years. According to the Artizon Museum, the founder Ishibashi Shojiro acquired it from the artist on the basis of a deep relationship of trust with him.