The defining feature of Japanese artist Saburōsuke Okada's (岡田三郎助) style is, above all, his graceful and elegant female figures, which integrate influences from his European and Japanese training in which he gradually established his own style based on delicate brushstrokes and elegant colors. "Kimono with Iris Pattern" (aka "Iris Robe") is a perfect embodiment of Okada's refined decorativeness and the detailed, soft skin tone characteristic of how he depicts women, as seen in works such as 紫の調 (Portrait of a Certain Woman) from 1907 and 萩 (Bush Clover) from 1908. The main feature of this work is the beautiful kimono robe, in which a white iris pattern stands out against the light indigo background that resembles water in a pond, and the vermilion stripes that beautifully harmonize with them. The young Japanese woman wearing the robes is painted in oil paint, with her back visible, against a golden-yellow background in the style of a lacquer dye. Traditional Japanese aesthetics and techniques are clearly visible in this "Western-style" oil painting, reflecting Okada's tireless research. At the age of six, Okada moved to Tokyo and stayed in the residence of Nabeshima Naohiro (鍋島直大), the former lord of the Saga domain. There, he saw the oil paintings of his fellow Saga native, Hyakutake Kaneyuki (百武兼行), and developed an interest in Western painting. After studying at the private school of Soyama Sachihiko (曽山幸彦), he entered the Tenshin Dojo, taught by Kuroda Seiki (黒田清輝) and Kume Keiichiro (久米桂一郎), who had returned from France. In 1896, he participated in the founding of the Hakuba-kai, and was appointed assistant professor in the newly established Western painting department at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (東京美術学校). The following year, he traveled to France as the first student studying Western painting funded by the Ministry of Education, studying under Kuroda's teacher, Raphaël Collin.

あやめの衣 (Kimono with Iris Pattern) by 岡田三郎助 / Saburōsuke Okada (Japanese) - Oil on cardboard mounted on canvas / 1927 - Pola Museum of Art (Hakone, Japan) #WomenInArt #art #JapaneseArt #日本絵画 #ポーラ美術館 #岡田三郎助 #PolaMuseumofArt #着物 #OkadaSaburōsuke #OkadaSaburosuke #womensart #OilPainting #JapanesesArtist

Legendary Japanese Yōga style (Western-style or 洋画) painter Okada Saburōsuke (岡田三郎助) created this beautiful 1908 portrait of a young Japanese woman prominently wearing a diamond ring for a promotional poster of the national "Japanese Beauties Photo Contest" (日本美人写真募集). It is striking similar to another c. 1908 masterpiece by Okada called 少女像 (Portrait of a Girl) in the collection of the Pola Museum of Art (ポーラ美術館) in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. That version doesn't have the jewelry box and the young beauty (with slightly more rounded face) wears a simpler blue kimono and a ruby (or red) ring. In "Woman Wearing a Diamond Ring," a young Japanese woman, with dark hair styled in an updo adorned with small, light-colored flowers, gently rests her right hand (our left) on her chin suggesting a melancholic moment of contemplation as her gaze is directed slightly downward. She wears a reddish-brown kimono with delicate floral motifs and a darker elaborate floral obi (belt) with red trim. Giving the painting its title is her left hand exposed flat on the wooden table in front of her showing a simple, yet elegant, gold ring with diamond on her ring finger. An open purple velvet jewelry box sits on the table facing towards her ... as if she just placed the precious band on her finger. Born on the island of Kyushi in 1869 to vassals of the samurai Nabeshima clan, Okada changed his name from Yoshisaburō after being adopted at 18 by Okada Shouzou. The artist was able to study Yōga art in Tokyo and then France which helped him become a key figure in the development of modern Japanese art -- especially in shaping the ideal image of modern beauty in Japan, particularly through his portraits of women like this portrait. His influence spread thanks to recognition/awards for his work and as a professor at the "Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō" (School of Fine Arts); precursor of the Tokyo University of the Arts.

ダイヤモンドの女 (Woman Wearing a Diamond Ring) aka 鑽石的女人 (Diamond Woman) by 岡田三郎助 / Okada Saburōsuke (Japanese) - Oil on canvas / 1908 - Fukutomi Taro Collection #WomenInArt #JapaneseArt #ArtText #womensart #DiamondRing #岡田三郎助 #福富太郎 #OkadaSaburōsuke #OkadaSaburosuke #福富太郎コレクション #FukutomiTaroCollection #美人画

This beautiful 1915 painting by Japanese artist Okada Saburōsuke (岡田三郎助) mixes hints of French impressionism and traditional Nihonga (日本画) for a truly "east meets west" piece of art. It was exhibited in the ninth Bunten (文展) government-sponsored art exhibition in Japan. On the canvas, we see a young Japanese woman wearing a white kimono while relaxing on a Western-style bench, the light is soft and the shadows expressed in purple hues. The contrast between the white chair, the white kimono and the black of the model’s obi (wide belt) and dark hair is most striking. Born in Saga Prefecture (佐賀県), Okada came into contact with oil painting through the work of Hyakutake Kaneyuki (百武兼行) and decided that he wished to study Western art (洋画). He traveled to Tokyo where he studied under Soyama Sachihiko (曽山幸彦) and Horie Masaaki (堀江正章). An old friend from Saga, named Kume Keiichiro (久米 桂一郎), introduced him to Kuroda Seiki (黒田清輝) after the latter returned from France and he went to study at the Tenshin Dojo. He was one of the founder members of the Hakuba-kai (White Horse Society) and when the Western Painting Department was established at Tokyo School of Fine Arts he joined Fujishima Takeji (藤島武二) there as an assistant professor. In 1897, Okada traveled to France as the first student to be officially sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Along with Kuroda, he studied under French painter Raphäel Collin. In 1907, a few years after his return to Japan, Okada was selected to be a judge at the first Bunten (Ministry of Education Art Exhibition) where he worked with Mori Ogai (森 鷗外) and others, going on to become a central figure in the exhibition. In this painting, the method of showing a woman positioned against a colorful background of outdoor shrubbery was a specialty of his mentor Collin and this portrait shows us how faithfully Okada had mastered his teacher’s style by 1915.

黒き帯 (Black Obi) by 岡田三郎助 Okada Saburōsuke (Japanese) - Oil on canvas / 1915 - Iwami Art Museum (Masuda, Japan) #womeninart #oilpainting #art #帯 #JapaneseArt #artwork #白馬会 #JapaneseArtist #OkadaSaburosuke #島根県立石見美術館 #IwamiArtMuseum #岡田三郎助 #kimono #きもの #着物 #beauty #womensart #1910s #impressionism #洋画

Japanese artist Okada Saburosuke (岡田三郎助) won first prize at the 1907 Tokyo Industrial Exhibition (東京勧業博覧会) for this painting, which initially was entitled Study in Purple (紫調べ), a reference to the purple cords that lace the drum. The beautiful young woman, wearing a red Genroku-style kimono (元禄風の着物) with beautiful patterns and her long black hair up in a chignon knot, seems about to strike a tsuzumi (鼓) hand drum. In the background is a Rimpa-style (琳派風) folding screen with a design of fringed pinks and flowing water. This painting was commissioned by Takahashi Yoshio (高橋義雄), who was in management for the Mitsukoshi Kimono Store (三越呉服店) which had touched off the Genroku (元禄模様) motif boom. The subject is Takahashi's wife, Chiyoko (千代子), a tea practitioner who was also involved in the management of the store. At the time this painting was completed, Takashi was engaged in modernizing Mitsukoshi and, aiming at a contemporary revival of traditional motifs, was working out a plan to focus particularly on motifs from the mid-Edo Genroku era. The painting was used in a poster throughout Japan for the Mitsukoshi’s Spring New Pattern Show. It's popularity later led it to be used as a postage stamp.

婦人像 (Portrait of a Lady) by 岡田三郎助 Okada Saburōsuke (Japanese) - Oil on canvas / 1907 - アーティゾン美術館 Artizon Museum (Chuo, Japan) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #JapaneseArt #ArtizonMuseum #アーティゾン美術館 #OkadaSaburosuke #岡田三郎助 #artwork #洋画 #womensart #portraitofawoman #JapaneseArtist #鼓 #drum #fineart