The Star

A woman is wearily gazing upward as the evening sky spreads behind her. The woman’s pale skin and white kimono emerge out of the dark blue background. She is wearing a kimono with a fireworks design and an obi (sash) decorated with stars, matching the first evening star in the background sky. The vividly contrasting colors and the motifs successfully capture the feel of a summer evening. Kitano Tsunetomi played an active part as the leader in Osaka’s Japanese painting circle in the Taisho and Showa periods. Behind his sentimental
themes, there is evidence of the artist’s fully thought out ideas, composition, and color schemes.