Kuniyoshi was born in Okayama, Japan in 1893 and migrated to America in 1906. At first, Yasuo had no plan of becoming an artist when he came to the United States from his native Japan in 1906 at the age of sixteen years old. He was also denied in citizenship and was classified as an “enemy alien”. One of his high school teachers in Los Angeles discovered that he’s gifted in art. Of course, it took people a long time before people actually realizing how good Yasuo, Kuniyoshi art works are. Another thing that could possibly set him back was his status of an immigrant and racism was still on going back in the days. Despites all the obstacles that he had faced, Kuniyoshi went on to become one of the most esteemed painters in New York in the years between the two …show more content…
I was surprised that how an artist could make a painting of a pregnant woman in a bather with a cigarette. A woman, a bathing suit, and a cigarette it was definitely something that I have never seen before. The use of dull colors makes the picture really stands out. “Bather with a Cigarette” was created in 1924 by Yasuo, Kuniyoshi it was done by “Oil on Canvas”. The painting itself is quiet large, and the canvas dimensions are 42 ¼ x 25 1/4in. It portrayed a woman having fun at the beach. When I read the name of the artwork “Bather with a cigarette” I instantly assume Bather is a female thing and the part that really throws me off is her holding a cigarette while being pregnant. It’s hard to fully understand and interpret an artist’s reason for a piece of artwork and for “Bather with a Cigarette” there is no exception. For me the meaning of this picture refers to a newly relaxed code to seaside behavior. Others might have different opinions. Yasuo Kuniyoshi was definitely a very skilled artist and a very smart man. I like most of his paintings, but the one that left me speechless was the “Bather with a Cigarette”. At that