Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties"
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- 1919
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 43.2 × 26 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
by Ito Shinsui
Shinsui's Taisho-era bijin-ga are his most coveted works. His early masterpieces like "Before the Mirror" (1916) fetch GBP 52,920 (~$67,000) at Sotheby's. The most iconic designs from the "Modern Beauties" series approach these heights with fresh, vivid original colors.
From the "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" series (1919), Face Powder depicts a woman applying white cosmetic powder to her face—a fundamental ritual of feminine preparation that had been depicted in bijin-ga since the Edo period but which Shinsui renders with the psychological intimacy and technical refinement of the shin-hanga movement. The moment of facing a mirror and adjusting one's appearance is one of the most common subjects in Shinsui's work, and his treatment of it across many prints reflects its centrality to his vision of modern femininity.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in 1919.
Yes — Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" is part of the New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties series by Ito Shinsui.
Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1919).
Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" depicts bijin-ga.
Face Powder, from the series "New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties" measures 43.2 × 26 cm (Oban format).
