Putting on Face Powder

By the early 19th century, the ideal of popular beauty had changed from the graceful and sweet round-faced types favored by artists like Kiyonaga, Utamaro, and Eishi to more assertive personalities. Artists like Eisen and Kunisada were in the vanguard of this new style, depicting women who appear worldly, reckless, and even slightly dangerous. This half-length portrait exemplifies Eisen’s vision of women with sharper features, longer faces and noses, elongated eyes, and pouting lower lips. The woman holds a mirror in one hand while she applies makeup with a brush. Her lower lip is green, a popular fashion in the early 19th century. This image is from a five-print series advertising a face powder.