Complex sentence: The ladies and the little Johannes were not allowed to stay in Japan, but in the short time they stayed there they were often painted by Japanese artists, who had never seen European ladies, and the paintings were widely circulated throughout Japan.
Split into simpler sentences: The ladies and the little Johannes were not allowed to stay in Japan. But in the short time they stayed there, they were often painted by Japanese artists, who had never seen European ladies, and the paintings were widely circulated throughout Japan.