Click on above image for larger scan

Make-up Before the Mirror
by Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki

Original caretaker of this artwork: Private collector

	Artist:	Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki — 松亭高橋、弘明
	Title:	Make-up Before the Mirror
	Series:
	Date of first edition?:	1927
	Publisher (first edition)?:	Fusui Gabo
	Publisher (this edition)?:	Fusui Gabo
	Medium (first edition):	Woodblock
	Medium (this edition):	Woodblock
	Format (first edition):	Large Oban
	Format (this edition):	Oban
	DB artwork code:	47942
	Notes (first edition)?:	Artist: Hiroaki, Shotei, 1871-1944 Title: Make-up Before the Mirror Date: 1927 Medium: woodblock Comments: Published by The Watanabe Color Print Co. Printed by Ono Tomisaburo (Onotomi) Illustrated: Female Image, pl. 149
	Notes (this edition)?:	The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies: Thanks to Eric for this entry.
	Artist Bio:	Takahashi Shotei was born in Tokyo with the given name of Takahashi Katsutaro. At a young age he was trained in Nihon-ga , the traditional Japanese painting style by his uncle Matsumoto Fuko, and beginning around 1907 Shotei started designing for the Watanabe Color Print Company. Shotei was among the first designers to be recruited into Watanabe's stable of artists, which would later expand to include Goyo, Shinsui, Hasui, Kasamatsu, Koson and Koitsu among others. Many Watanabe prints were designed for export, primarily to North America, where the demand for all things Japanese was high in the early 20th century. By 1923 Shotei had produced nearly 500 designs for Watanabe, when Tokyo was hit by the Great Kanto earthquake -- the worst recorded natural catastrophe in the history of Japan. The fires ignited by the earthquake raged for three days, and Watanabe's print shop and all the woodblocks created by Shotei and the other early shin hanga artists, were destroyed. After the earthquake Shotei created another 250 prints mostly depicting scenic Japanese landscapes in the shin hanga style he had helped to define. He continued to work for Watanabe, but also worked with the publishers Fusui Gabo and Shobido Tanaka, where he had more control over the finished print than was possible with Watanabe. Shotei used a variety of names, signatures and seals during his lifetime. From 1907 until 1922 he used the name Shotei, and after 1922 Hiroaki and Komei.