Lady Reading Poetry

Ishibashi Kazunori was from Shimane Prefecture. He studied under J.S. Sargent and others at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, learning traditional European portrait painting techniques. This composition accurately captures the model's elegant expression, and is a representative work of Ishibashi's that conveys the rare talent that he possessed. Through this work, one can also gain a peek into the cultural background of the time, in which it had become common for women to read books.