Beautiful Woman Reading a Book

We continue celebrating Women's History Month with Uemura Shōen, who was a Japanese painter well known for her works of bijinga (ukiyo-e beauty portraits). She reportedly said, "Not once I’ve drawn women thinking they should only be 'beautiful.' My wish is to paint gem-like, clear, decorous and sophisticated figures with no element of vulgarity."

Shōen, who died in 1949, was unusual for her time as a woman working in a field dominated by men. This "outsider" status as a woman enabled her to acquire a deeper understanding of her female models and employ different approaches from male artists—a quality that elevates her paintings by portraying women not just as objects created through the lens of the male gaze, but as thinking, feeling subjects who invite us to admire their inner beauty as well as their outward attractiveness.

In her efforts to show female beauty in what she believed to be its purest form, Shōen’s paintings are characterized by both a lightness of touch and a depth of feeling ... like in today's painting, where a beautiful Japanese woman is so focused on reading a book. 

P.S. If you love Japanese art as much as we do, please check our 50 Japanese Art Postcard Set.  :)

P.P.S. Japanese art is not only about Hokusai or Hiroshige; there were plenty of female Japanese artists as well, such as Nōguchi Shōhin! <3