Shibata Yonezo was born into a family of art dealers in Kyoto. His brother, Shibata Ko, was a Western-style painter who encouraged the younger Yonezo to begin oil painting while still in junior high school. After the war Shibata Yonezo joined the Independent Art Research Center of Kyoto, and there fell under the influence of Suda Kunitaro (1891-1961). Beginning in 1965 Shibata traveled to Europe frequently and in 1975 he participated in an art exchange program with Brazil. His work moved toward abstraction during the years 1965-1975, but thereafter he began to paint the dreamy and romanticised female figures he is best known for, such as the painting offered here.