Born in Fukuoka in 1893, Zenzaburo Kojima is considered the pioneer of Japanese modern art. In 1913, he decided to move from Fukuoka to Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming a painter. Instead of entering the Tokyo University of the Arts, Kojima developed a unique set of artistic practice and language through self-study and in-depth exchanges with young artists. In 1922, he entered the highly-regarded Nika Art Exhibition and received top prize, making Kojima a rising star in the Japanese art scene at the t.mes . From 1925 to 1928, Kojima traveled to Europe to study art. He travelled to France, Spain and Italy, where he visited museums filled with Classical Western art, and experienced first-hand the many modern art movements. After returning from Europe, he moved into a studio in Yoyogi, Tokyo and gained increasing recognition within Japan as an artist. In 1929, he exhibited 24 works he painted in Europe in the Nika Association, which he was selected to be a member of the same year. His work from this period, known as the Late Yoyogi period (1928 – 1936), is identified as the Modern ‘Japanese oil painting’ style, in which he combines the Western sense of shapes, colors and three-dimensionality with the traditional Japanese aesthetic.
Depicting a female nude standing in an indistinguishable indoor space, Nude is a rare example of the artist’s depiction of this subject. According to the artist's archive, Kojima only created about 50 nude paintings throughout his life, and less than 20 among them depict nude figures in a standing pose. The pose of the model shows the clear influence of Classical Western art in Kojima’s creative process. With both her arms raised, hip slanted and one keen bent, the female figure stands in a contrapposto pose, a signature in many Renaissance sculptures, such as Michelangelo's David. Kojima also depicts the figure with great attention to her voluptuous and sensual figure that reminisce the way Michelangelo and Titian depicted their female figures.
The background of Nude is depicted in a very different manner than the artist’s careful depiction of the female figure. While unpolished, the background is clearly set indoors, distinguishing it from the typical mythical landscape found in many Renaissance paintings of nude figures. Kojima drew inspiration from classical Ukiyo-e composition, which often features a single figure standing in traditional Japanese interiors. Without clear identifiable features in the background, Kojima creates a theatre-like backdrop that allows the figure to stand in t.mes lessness. This approach allows Kojima to pave the way for his subsequent exploration of flatness and innovative color usage, characteristics that are seen throughout his career. In addition to his exposure to classical art, Kojima was exposed to the Fauvism movement during his t.mes in Paris, which greatly impacted his use of color. Featuring a bright red curtain, a blue wall and strong black shadow, the background of Nude maximizes visual tension, vibrancy and emotional impact. This use of complementary palettes is reminiscent of the works of Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Kojima stopped painting nudes after the 1930s due to lack of models and shifted his focus to landscape and still life, making Nude a rare example from the artist's early period. Most of Kojima's nude paintings measuring over 1 meter are in private or public museum collects
ions in Japan, making nude subject works very rare to come by on the market.
児島善三郎在1893年生於日本福岡，他被視為日本現代藝術的先驅人物。1913年，他為了實現成為畫家的夢想，正式從福岡移居到東京；在此，他並沒有進入東京美術學院，而是通過自學，以及與前衛年輕藝術家的深刻交流，研究出一套獨特的藝術語言。1922年，他在日本著名畫展二科展獲得了頭獎，成為當時日本畫壇冉冉升起的一顆新星。児島善三郎在1925至1928年前往歐洲深造藝術。児島善三郎在法國、西班牙和意大利居住，在博物館參見欣賞了不少西方古典藝術，亦親身沉浸於眾多現代藝術流派的影響之中。他從歐洲歸來後，搬進了代代木的一間工作室，此時期，他在日本藝壇的名氣日漸增加。1929年，他在二科會展出24件他在歐洲創作的作品，並於同年被選為會員。1928至1936年，児島善三郎居住在代代木的期間被稱為藝術家的晚代代木時期，此期間他的作品深受西方古典藝術影響；他將西方藝術的形、色、以及立體感與日本的傳統美學相融合，創造出獨特的現代「日本油畫」藝術風格。
《裸女》描繪了一名裸體女子站立於室內，是藝術家極少以裸女為主題的創作典例。根據児島善三郎的油畫作品全集記載，児島善三郎一生中僅創作約50幅裸以裸女為主題的油畫作品，其中僅有少於20幅描繪站立裸女的作品。畫中女子的姿態展現出古典藝術對藝術家創作過程的影響。這位女子高舉雙臂，胯部微微傾斜，膝蓋微曲，是典型的對立式平衡的站立姿勢；這是文藝復興雕塑的經典特色，例如米開朗基羅的《大衛》。此外，藝術家在本作中對人體的豐滿體態及肉感的細致描繪亦讓人聯想到米開朗基羅和提香對女性身體的描繪方式。
本作的背景與人物的描繪方式十分不同；背景的描繪手法雖然粗糙，但明顯設置於室內，這使其與許多文藝復興時期描繪裸女畫作中常見的神話風景背景形成鮮明對比。日本傳統浮世繪中常常描繪日本傳統建築內獨立的人物，而在本作的背景中，清晰可見兒島善三郎從浮世繪構圖中所汲取的靈感。背景中雖無任何特定的事物，但藝術家卻賦予其舞台般的喜劇效果，使得人物仿佛站立在永恆之中，超越時空的界限。自此，對平面性和創新色彩使用的探索將會貫穿児島善三郎創作生涯，成為他作品中的一大特色。 除了接觸古典藝術外，児島在巴黎期間亦受到了野獸派的影響，這對他的色彩運用產生了重大影響。透過鮮紅的窗簾、藍色的牆壁和強烈的黑色陰影的組合，《裸女》的背景最大化了視覺張力、活力和情緒衝擊。野獸派藝術家亨利·馬蒂斯和安德烈·德蘭的作品正以這種對比色運用而著稱。
藝術家在1930年代後因缺少模特等原因停止繪製裸女畫作，並轉而專注於風景畫和靜物畫；而児島善三郎超過一米的大尺幅裸女畫大多數已在日本的私人或公立美術館館藏中，因此，如《裸女》般尺幅宏大，且以站立裸女為主題的藝術家早期作品在拍場上十分罕見。