Rafu to sammenkyo (Nude and vanity mirror)

Living in France from 1925 to 1928, Kojima was initially overwhelmed by Western oil painting and embarked on a thorough historical study of the subject in the Louvre and the museums of Europe. With his understanding of the Renaissance painters and the nudes of Titian and Tintoretto, came the recognition that his own contemporaries, Matisse and Derain, were producing outstanding works. When he returned to Japan he formed his own group, Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyokai, in 1930, with the goal of developing oil painting unique to Japanese sensibilities. Kojima's strong paintings, rich in bold color and clearly drawn volumes, succeed in both the traditional and avant-garde roles.