Goyo's preparatory drawings and studies are collector items in their own right, revealing his meticulous process. With only 14 completed woodblock print designs, any documented original material commands scholarly and collector interest. Values depend heavily on provenance and authentication.
A young woman applying rouge — identified in the subtitle as Chiyofuku, a maiko of Gion in Kyoto — one of Goyo's most precisely documented portraits in which the sitter is identified by both her professional name and her professional context. The Gion district was Kyoto's most prestigious entertainment quarter, home to some of Japan's most accomplished geisha, and a maiko in Gion training represented the pinnacle of traditional feminine accomplishment. The mica-enriched paper gives the image a luminosity that honors both the subject's beauty and her cultural significance.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Young Woman Applying Rouge (Portrait of Chiyofuku, a Maiko of Gion, Kyoto) was created by Hashiguchi Goyo (橋口五葉) in 1920.
Young Woman Applying Rouge (Portrait of Chiyofuku, a Maiko of Gion, Kyoto) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1920).
Young Woman Applying Rouge (Portrait of Chiyofuku, a Maiko of Gion, Kyoto) depicts bijin-ga and portraits, set at Kyoto.
