Girl of Bréhat

In September of 1891, Kuroda went with his friend and fellow painter Kume Keiichi to the island of Bréhat in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, in Brittany. Enjoying the island's rich scenic beauty and the customs of its Celtic population as well as the opportunity to interact with other artists, Kuroda spent about a month on the island. During his stay, in addition to paintings of the shore and the sea, he produced paintings of the human figure, using local children as his models. Here the girl's flaming red hair, her crazed eyes, the yellow of the piece of fabric in her hand, her mismatched shoes, the bowl with the large chip: The brushwork is violent, unusually so for Kuroda, whose style tended to be moderate, even restrained; this work is filled with violent emotion. The sense of freedom often experienced through travel had evidently released the passions within him.