Claude Monet’s painting of a woman in a Japanese kimono surrounded by fans is La Japonaise.
Monet exhibited La Japonaise at the second Impressionist exhibition in 1876. The large painting shows a European woman wearing an elaborate red kimono and holding a Japanese fan, with additional fans arranged across the background. Camille Doncieux modeled for the figure.
The work reflects the 19th-century European fascination with Japanese art and design known as Japonisme. Monet owned Japanese woodblock prints, and their flat areas, strong outlines, unusual viewpoints, and decorative patterns influenced many European artists.
La Japonaise is not a literal scene from Japan. It is a staged Western image of Japanese-inspired fashion and decoration. That distinction matters because the painting’s subject is a Parisian costume performance rather than a documented Japanese setting.