the fan...

i wish i knew who she was - and if she went to lots of parties and had a closet full of dresses almost exactly like this one but in different fabrics and colors. when i see a painting like this it is like being introduced to someone new. i bet her fan was from an admirer, a lover. there is something about her that tells me she did not just sit in her parlor and read books or sew quietly by a window framed in lace. there is some fabulous story regarding that feather sitting atop her braided crown. what do you think?
k
william strang - the japanese fan