Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Woman in Japanese Kimono

Date

ca. 1878

Creator

Étienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

The subject of Berne-Bellecour’s watercolor is a Western woman in Japanese attire. Positioned in the center of the composition against a backdrop of blue-gray waves with a distant coastline, she turns one-quarter to the left. She gazes into the distance as she gently clutches a closed parasol. Although Berne-Bellecour made his mark as a painter of military scenes, this watercolor is an example of Japonisme, the trend of adapting elements of Japanese art and design that had been introduced into Europe in the 1850s into contemporary art. His attention to detail and color in his illustration of the woman’s floral kimono and accessories echoes other works of Western women in Japanese dress, including The Princess from the Land of Porcelain by James McNeil Whistler, exhibited in Paris to great acclaim in the Salon of 1865. Signed "E. Berne-Bellecour" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022

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The subject of Berne-Bellecour’s watercolor is a Western woman in Japanese attire. Positioned in the center of the composition against a backdrop of blue-gray waves with a distant coastline, she turns one-quarter to the left. She gazes into the distance as she gently clutches a closed parasol. Although Berne-Bellecour made his mark as a painter of military scenes, this watercolor is an example of Japonisme, the trend of adapting elements of Japanese art and design that had been introduced into Europe in the 1850s into contemporary art. His attention to detail and color in his illustration of the woman’s floral kimono and accessories echoes other works of Western women in Japanese dress, including The Princess from the Land of Porcelain by James McNeil Whistler, exhibited in Paris to great acclaim in the Salon of 1865. Signed "E. Berne-Bellecour" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
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  • The subject of Berne-Bellecour’s watercolor is a Western woman in Japanese attire. Positioned in the center of the composition against a backdrop of blue-gray waves with a distant coastline, she turns one-quarter to the left. She gazes into the distance as she gently clutches a closed parasol. Although Berne-Bellecour made his mark as a painter of military scenes, this watercolor is an example of Japonisme, the trend of adapting elements of Japanese art and design that had been introduced into Europe in the 1850s into contemporary art. His attention to detail and color in his illustration of the woman’s floral kimono and accessories echoes other works of Western women in Japanese dress, including The Princess from the Land of Porcelain by James McNeil Whistler, exhibited in Paris to great acclaim in the Salon of 1865. Signed "E. Berne-Bellecour" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
  • The subject of Berne-Bellecour’s watercolor is a Western woman in Japanese attire. Positioned in the center of the composition against a backdrop of blue-gray waves with a distant coastline, she turns one-quarter to the left. She gazes into the distance as she gently clutches a closed parasol. Although Berne-Bellecour made his mark as a painter of military scenes, this watercolor is an example of Japonisme, the trend of adapting elements of Japanese art and design that had been introduced into Europe in the 1850s into contemporary art. His attention to detail and color in his illustration of the woman’s floral kimono and accessories echoes other works of Western women in Japanese dress, including The Princess from the Land of Porcelain by James McNeil Whistler, exhibited in Paris to great acclaim in the Salon of 1865. Signed "E. Berne-Bellecour" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
Étienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour (French, 1838 - 1910)
ca. 1878
Drawings
Watercolor on card
2009.045.014
Japanese
kimonos
women
Not on view, please request access
14 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (36.83 x 26.04 cm)
The Muriel S. and Noah L. Butkin Collection

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.