Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (Japan, 1899-1948) - Lot 122

Lot n° 122
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Estimation :
30000 - 40000 EUR
Result : NC
Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (Japan, 1899-1948) - Lot 122
Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (Japan, 1899-1948) Print, dai oban tate-e, from the series Kindai jiseishō no uchi (近代時世粧ノ内 ), La Mode d'Aujourd'hui, plate [ichi] 「一」, 1: Horoyoi -ほろ酔い), Pompette. Signed Kiyoshi and artist's stamp. Dated 2nd month of Showa 5 (1930). Self-published. (Small holes, folds, foxing, restoration). Dim. 52 x 30 cm With Tipsy, Kiyoshi creates an emblematic image in phase with his era, embodied by the modern woman of the 1920s or "moga", the Japanese equivalent of French garçonnes. This controversial subject is unusual for Kiyoshi, despite his regular participation in government-organized Teiten exhibitions. He is credited with thirteen prints, six of them self-published. These women's new-found self-confidence is reflected not only in their adoption of Western "vices" such as smoking, but also in their attitude, here staring at the viewer with a provocative gaze. Emblems of their time, they were banned by the Japanese government in 1930. In the same year, employers dismissed women who "constantly stained their lips", and police arrested those who wore make-up in the street. Kiyoshi was a fervent advocate of depicting a modern vision of Japanese women: "I don't just draw habits and customs, I try to capture the essence of the times in which I live". Reference: This print reproduced in: Uhlenbeck, Dwinger, Ouweleen, Shin hanga: Les Estampes Modernes du Japon 1900-1960, Éditions Hazan (2022), p. 153 A similar print in the Honolulu Museum of Art, no. 26926
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