Half Dreaming 1913

Fujishima Takeji painted this dreamy-eyed portrait, Half Dreaming, with visible brushstrokes and soft, muted colors. You can almost feel him coaxing this composition into being with layer upon layer of delicate gestures. I wonder what it was like for Fujishima Takeji, perched in front of the canvas, brush in hand, mixing those subtle shades of brown, green, and purple. Did he start with the eyes and build the rest of the painting around that captivating gaze? Look at how the patterned shawl drapes across the figure. There's a real sense of intimacy, as if we’ve caught her in a moment of private reflection. Maybe he was thinking of Whistler, or other symbolist painters of the time, as he worked on the piece. But that’s the cool thing about painting, right? Artists riff off each other across time, and we get to witness this exchange, one brushstroke at a time. And like a half-remembered dream, a painting can mean so many things, shifting with each viewer.