Reading a Letter in Front of a Screen, from an untitled series of 12 prints

Art Historical Context

Step into the elegant world of early 18th-century Japan with *Reading a Letter in Front of a Screen*, a captivating woodblock print by Torii Kiyonobu I, created around 1710. As a key figure in the Torii school—pioneers of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world"—Kiyonobu specialized in vibrant depictions of kabuki actors and beautiful women (bijin-ga). This intimate scene, part of an untitled series of 12 prints, shows a graceful woman absorbed in a letter, framed by a decorative screen, evoking the quiet drama of everyday life in Edo (modern Tokyo). Crafted as an oban-sized sumizuri-e—a large-format (35.6 × 25.4 cm) monochromatic woodblock print using only black ink—this work highlights masterful techniques. Delicate lines and subtle shading create depth, texture, and emotion without color, predating the lush polychrome nishiki-e prints of later masters like Hiroshige. The Torii school's bold outlines and dynamic poses shine here, making art accessible to urban merchants and theatergoers. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia department, this print exemplifies ukiyo-e's cultural role in celebrating fleeting pleasures and human connections. Imagine the rustle of silk and anticipation of the letter's words— a timeless snapshot of Japan's Genroku-era sophistication.

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...