Make-up (At the Mirror) — 化粧

A woman examines her reflection in a standing mirror, applying cosmetics with the careful attention of a practitioner at her art. The Japanese title Kesho — makeup — gives the act its full weight: not vanity but craft, the daily construction of a composed exterior self. Kotondo's 1930 treatments of this subject are among the most sought after of his small oeuvre, combining compositional clarity with the atmospheric subtlety of his finest bijin-ga work.