Woman Applying Makeup

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.