Fujishima Takeji
(1867 - 1943)
 

Fujishima Takeji (藤島 武二) was a Japanese painter, noted for his work in developing Romanticism and impressionism within the yōga (Western-style) art movement in late 19th- and early 20th-century Japanese painting. In his later years, he was influenced by the Art Nouveau movement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujishima_Takeji

Portrait of an Italian Lady
1908
Oil on canvas
39,4 x 49,4 cm
Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan

Fujishima finally was able to travel to Europe in 1906 at the age of 38. After studying in Paris he then we t to Italy where he studied with the portrait-specialist, Carolus-Duran, a member of the French Academy and then the head of the French Academy in Rome. This work is thought to have been painted during Fujishima's stay in Rome and minimizes the literary lyricism seen in his images of women prior to his European sojourn. Here the artist focuses on a search for firm formal modeling. Fujishima has used his limited palette to provide a precise rendering of his model's features, an approach indicative of his thorough understanding of the Academic methods of figural depiction.