Itō Shinsui: Eyebrow Pencil (Mayuzumi) (Sold)

Artist: Itō Shinsui
Title: Eyebrow Pencil (Mayuzumi)
Date: 1928

One of Shinsui’s most striking designs. An undressed beauty, probably an actress, applies makeup before the mirror, her white skin a striking contrast to the deep red background. Shinsui has created an intimate, almost voyeuristic scene at a moment of feminine vulnerability, while she prepares her public face in private. The red is a natural vegetable dye that required layers of overprinting (while never smudging into the white). It is very rare to find this design with the red in excellent shape, as here. Numbered 80 out of a limited edition of 200, verso.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Extremely minor areas of foxing.
Dimensions: 28 x 40 cm
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Literature: “The Women of Shin Hanga”, plate 40, page 180.
Seal: Shinsui
Signature: Shinsui ga

SKU: SNI023