Kotondo is best known for bijin-ga, but his complete oeuvre includes actor prints and other figure subjects. His small corpus of only 21 designs ensures that all authenticated period impressions carry collector interest and scarcity premiums.
A woman at her toilette applies cosmetics or powders her face, the act of self-preparation rendered as a quiet scene of absorption. Kotondo's 1930 color woodblock prints are among his most technically accomplished, demonstrating his ability to build luminous surfaces through multiple applications of transparent pigment. The makeup subject recurs across his small oeuvre in slight variations, each capturing a different posture of self-examination, a different quality of intimate attention.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Make-up was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1930.
Make-up was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1930).
Make-up depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.
Make-up measures 40.6 × 26.4 cm (Oban format).
