When the new invention of photography began to be more accessible to people, it was thought by some that there might not be enough room in the art world for both representational painting and photography, although this was probably overstated.

For George Hendrik Breitner, this did not pose a problem, as he worked with both a camera and a paintbrush. His painting, Girl in a White Kimono, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is one in a series of paintings of a girls in kimonos, both white and red. 

The young woman who modeled for Breitner’s Kimono series was named Geesje Kwak, and was sixteen years old at the time he painted her. Geesje was born in Zaandam in 1877 and moved to Amsterdam with her older sister to begin her new job as a milliner (a maker and seller of hats, usually women’s), which is where she met Breitner. Breitner had recently seen an exhibition of Japanese art in the Hague and had been impressed enough to acquire some Japanese kimonos and decorative screens for his studio. This would be the perfect time to put these items to use, since he now had a willing model to pose for him.

One of Breitner’s notebooks from this time period reveals that he recorded the dates, times, and amounts paid to Geesje for her work; the thorough details in the notebook suggest that this was strictly a professional business arrangement, and nothing more. There are also several preliminary sketches in pencil that show her lying on the bed and standing in front of a mirror. Japanese art, or Japonisme was gaining in popularity in the second half of the 19^th century, and many other artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Mary Cassatt, among others, were influenced by this style. Breitner was a collector of Japanese woodcut prints, as was his acquaintance, van Gogh.

As mentioned, Breitner was one of a few painters who used photographs (or who would admit to using photographs) as studies for his paintings. Breitner used one of the “new portable box cameras” to shoot scenes of everyday life in Amsterdam that would not usually be considered attractive: construction projects, laborers, city streets, machinery, and so on. He also used the camera to take photos of his new model, Geesje, who posed wearing each of the red and the white kimonos. The really cool part about all this is that the photos still exist and can be compared side-by-side to the paintings Breitner created from them.

While photography was certainly not yet widely considered an art form in the 19^th century, there were other artists from Breitner’s day that would use photos in their work. However, not many of these artists would want to admit using photographs as studies for their paintings. It was thought by some critics that using a photo somehow made the artwork less “pure,” than using a pencil or oil sketch, as this would go against the idealistic image of an artist. Of course, this did not stop painters from doing this; it was often easier and quicker to use a photo that they either took themselves or found for sale somewhere, rather than sketching things out from life.

Although she is now immortalized in Breitner’s series of paintings, unfortunately Geesje Kwak had a tragically short life. In 1895, Geesje, along with her younger sister, Niesje, emigrated to Pretoria, South Africa. Four years later, just before turning 22 years of age, she would be fatally struck down by tuberculosis.  All told, she ended up modeling for thirteen Kimono paintings and one nude; she was also likely the model for Breitner’s The Earring.