A ravishing series of paintings from the 1890s. Breitner bought the kimonos and other Japanese items after seeing an expedition of Japanese art in the Hague at the beginning of the decade, and discovered an ideal model to wear in them in a certain Geesje Kwaak, a young girl who was working in a milliner's shop in Amsterdam. She apparently came from Zaandaam, but looks as if she may have had some eastern blood.
Here is a photograph of Geesje herself. Breitner was a skilled photographer; not only did he make extensive use of photographs in preparing his paintings, but some of his photographs of old Amsterdam are works of art in their own right.
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:George_Hendrik_Breitner_-_Oudezijds_Achterburgwal,_Amsterdam_(Het_Kolkje).jpg&filetimestamp=20051030190129
Perhaps the finest of the series.
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