Boy

Sekine is believed to have painted this portrait of his youngest brother, Takeo, then six, during the last six months of the artist's life, before his death at the age of 20 years and two months. The impoverished Sekine often painted over his old canvases, as he obviously did in this case. He had begun executing a design in which two women are walking side by side, but for some reason quit before finishing it, cut the canvas in two, and reused the lower half for this portrait. He had probably used the vivid cinnabar red in the first painting as well. It was his favorite color, one that became almost synonymous with him. The intense contrast between the red and the clear blue of the background gives a sense of the artist's longing for life.