Woman Applying Makeup

Object Details

• Artist

  Hashiguchi Goyo 橋口五葉 (1880-1921)

• Label

  This striking image of a woman applying powder to her shoulder was the first figure print for which Goyo was both artist and publisher. By assuming both roles, which were traditionally separate, Goyo controlled every detail of color selection, block cutting, and printing. In this image, he sought to achieve the extraordinary quality of the prints of Utamaro (1753-1806), whose work he researched for an article published in 1915.

  The elegance of the model and the graceful drape of her loosely wrapped garment are enhanced by the pearly finish of mica powder printed on the background, a demanding technique characteristic of the finest Japanese prints. Although he faithfully reproduced the artistic quality and the subject matter of eighteenth-century Japanese prints, Goyo's sensitive rendering of volume through line and pattern displays his mastery of European techniques of drawing and painting. The model herself reveals her modernity by wearing a ring, an accessory of clearly foreign origin.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Japanese Beauty: Woodblock Prints by Goyo from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (November 18, 2001 to February 10, 2002)

  Goyo: Japanese Prints (August 27, 1995 to March 17, 1996)

  Color Woodblock Prints by Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921) -- From a Private Collection (February 25 to April 26, 1992)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of H. Ed Robison in memory of Ulrike Pietzner-Robison

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1910s

• Name

  Hashiguchi, Goyo

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Japanese Art, Taisho era (1912 - 1926), Woman

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints