Itō Shinsui 伊東深水: Beauty Applying Powder Kuchi-e

Artist: Itō Shinsui 伊東深水 Title: Beauty Before the Mirror Applying PowderDate: ca. 1910s-20s Kuchi-e of a beauty applying powder to her face, towel in her left hand. This work would have been included with a magazine (kuchi-e), hence the folds for insertion. The Japanese at the time used several types of offset and lithographic printing as well as a combination of these; this work seems to have been created using offset lithography, a combination of the two processes. Shinsui’s powers of composition and design are are strong as every in these prints, which are extremely affordable compared to his Taisho era limited-edition woodblock prints, which easily run into the five figures. Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. The usual kuchi-e folds.Dimensions: 35 x 18.8 cmLiterature:See Kendall Brown’s “Dangerous Beauties and Dutiful Wives, Popular Portraits of Women in Japan, 1905-1925” for a discussion of similar kuchi-e as well as the printing techniques.Signature: Shinsui