Applying Makeup - 風呂や (1)

The subtitle 風呂や (furoya, bathhouse) situates this bijin-ga print in the context of a bathhouse or its adjacent dressing area, where a woman is shown applying makeup or attending to her face. Bathhouse interiors were a recurring setting in Meiji bijin-ga, providing a pretext for depicting women in states of undress or mid-toilette. Shuntei likely renders the figure in close composition, emphasizing the gesture of the hand holding a brush or mirror, with a dressing stand or cosmetic box suggesting the setting. The numbered title indicates this is the first of a paired or serial treatment of the subject. The intimate scale and soft gradations of skin tone typical of bijin-ga would require careful use of flesh-colored pigments applied over multiple passes on dampened washi.