Arrival of the Korean Embassy in Edo
c. 1709
Medium
Woodblock print; oban sumizuri-e, 1 of 6 sheets from a 12-sheet composition (see 1925.2334a-f)
Dimensions
28 × 36.5 cm (11 1/16 × 14 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
130422
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia gallery, where you'll find *Arrival of the Korean Embassy in* by Torii Kiyon I, a captivating woodblock print from around 1709. This oban sumizuri-e— a large-format, single-color (black ink on white paper) print—is one sheet from an ambitious 12-sheet composition, likely forming a panoramic scene (see related sheets 1925.2334a-f). Kiyonobu I, a master of the Torii school early ukiyo-e, was renowned for vibrant actor prints and beauty portraits, but here he captures a moment of grandeur with precise lines and dynamic composition. The artwo...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonobu I · 1664–1729
Torii Kiyonobu I (1664–1729), born Shōbei in Osaka, was the second son of Torii Kiyomoto, a prominent kabuki actor specializing in onnagata roles and a painter of theater signboards. He studied painting under his father as well as Yoshida Hanbei and Hishikawa Moronobu, the pioneering ukiyo-e master whose figure styles profoundly shaped his early work. In 1687, at age twenty-four, Kiyonobu accompan...