江戸に生まれ、高橋由一に油絵を学んだあと、ドイツのミュンヘンに留学しました。そこで作家の森鷗外と出会い、親友になります。帰国後、龍に乗った観音を西洋の油絵の技法で描いた《騎龍観音》を発表し、「日本の題材を油絵で描けるか」という大きな議論を起こしました。36歳の若さで病気のため亡くなりました。
Harada was born in Edo. After learning oil painting from Takahashi Yuichi, he went to study in Munich, Germany. There he met the writer Mori Ōgai, who became his close friend. Back in Japan, he showed Kannon Riding a Dragon, a Buddhist goddess painted with Western oil techniques. It started a big debate about whether Japanese subjects should be painted in oil. He died of illness at only 36.
