Description
Precious shin-hanga (新版画) woodblock print of large vertical format, re-edition of a work made around 1949 by the artist Kato Shinmei (加藤晨明) and depicting a maiko (舞妓), an apprentice geisha (芸者), dressed with an autumnal kimono intent on putting on make-up while holding a tekagami (手鏡) hand mirror.
Kato Shinmei (1910 – 1988) was born in Nagoya (名古屋) and trained under the guidance of the famous painter and designer Gakuryo Nakamura (中村岳陵). Famous for his portrayals of beautiful women, both in traditional and modern style, he won numerous awards including, in 1948, the one awarded by the Japan Art Academy (日本芸術院), the highest ranking artistic organization in Japan of which he would be later become a judge.
The work on Japanese washi paper (和紙), made in the ’70s by Takamizawa Mokuhansha (高見沢木版社) for the publisher Kondo Kihachiro (近藤喜八朗), despite a showy stain of moisture is in good general condition.
