Sugatami Shichinin Keshō

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Sugatami Shichinin Keshō, Utamaro, coloured pigment on handmade washi paper, c. 1792–93, 37 by 25 centimetres (14.6 in × 9.8 in)

Sugatami Shichinin Keshō (姿見七人化粧, "Seven Women Applying Make-up Using a Mirror", c. 1792–93) is the title of what was likely a seven-print series by the Japanese

Kitagawa Utamaro. Only one print from the presumed series is known, and is believed to be of the tea-house girl Naniwa O-Kita
.

The print has also appeared under the title Bijin Keshō no Zu (美人化粧之図, "Picture of Woman Applying Makeup").[1]

Description

The vertical nishiki-e multicolour print is in o-ban size—about 37 by 25 centimetres (15 in × 10 in).[a] It was published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō and is signed Utamaro ga (歌麿画, "drawn by Utamaro").[2] The mirror's background is dusted with mica to give it a glittering effect.[3]

The print bears the title Sugatami Shichinin Keshō, which suggests it was—or was intended to be—part of a seven-print series.

cropped off the right edge.[6] Her face appears reflected[5] as she peers into a large mirror with her right hand on her hair. Both her face and the nape of her neck are visible;[4] the nape of the neck was considered particularly sensual in Edo-period Japan.[5] The subject does not pose like a model, but rather appears relaxed, away from the gaze of the public;[7] Utamaro made many such candid portraits, emphasizing the beauty of the whole body—fingers, the nape of the neck, and such—rather than just the face.[6]

The print does not indicate the subject, but from the long, slit-like almond-shaped eyes,

Kansei Reforms of the 1790s it became illegal to name entertainers in prints.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ Sizes vary from copy to copy depending on how the paper was cut, aging, and other factors.

References

  1. ^ British Museum staff.
  2. ^ Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, staff.
  3. ^ Screech 2002, p. 276.
  4. ^ a b c d Fujimura 2016, p. 37.
  5. ^ a b c d Honolulu Museum of Art staff.
  6. ^ a b Higuchi 2014, p. 235.
  7. ^ a b c Higuchi 2014, p. 234.

Works cited

  • British Museum staff. "Triptych print". British Museum. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Fujimura, Tadanori (2016). "Sugatami Shichinin Keshō" 姿見七人化粧. In Asano, Shūgō (ed.). Utamaro Ketteiban 歌麿決定版. Bessatsu Taiyō (in Japanese). Vol. 245. Heibonsha. p. 37.
    ISBN 9784582922455
    .
  • Higuchi, Kazutaka (2014). "Sugatami Shichinin Keshō" 姿見七人化粧. In Ōkubo, Jun'ichi (ed.). Nihon bijutsu zenshū 日本美術全集 [Japanese Art Complete Series]. Vol. 15. Shōgakukan. pp. 234–235.
    ISBN 978-4-09601115-7
    .
  • Honolulu Museum of Art staff. "Okita". Honolulu Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, staff. "Seven Women Applying Make-up Using a Mirror (Sugatami shichinin keshô)". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Screech, Timon (2002). The Lens Within the Heart: The Western Scientific Gaze and Popular Imagery in Later Edo Japan.
    ISBN 978-0-8248-2594-2
    .

External links
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