Girl in a White Kimono

Girl in a White Kimono depicts a young woman reclining on a couch, dressed in a Japanese kimono and set against a folding screen. The model is believed to be Geesje Kwak, who sat for Breitner on several occasions. The painting belongs to a series of around thirteen works in which Breitner posed models in kimonos, inspired by the Japanese prints he collected after Japonisme swept through European art. Rendered in loose, impressionistic brushwork, the picture trades the bustle of Breitner's celebrated Amsterdam street scenes for a mood of quiet intimacy. For European audiences of the period, the depiction of a Western woman in Asian dress also carried an undertone of sensuality. The work entered the Rijksmuseum through the Drucker-Fraser bequest and remains on display in the museum's galleries.