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Hishikwa MORONOBU (1615 - 1694)		Lovers - (work from the so-called 'Primitive' period, - the early days of Ukiyo-e) -
		Signed:                        (unsigned, as usual with shunga) Date:                            c. 1680 Size:                             ôban yoko-e (c. 25 x 35 cms / c. 9 7/8" by 13 3/4") Condition: Fine impression; minor soil; album print (therefore backed and with a faint center fold). ref. no.: # 753295 - Sold -

Print from a twelve-part set of ôban-sized shunga prints in black and white. The non-explicit sexual depiction of this print suggests that it is the first print of the shunga album. - MORONOBU had become an ukiyo-e artist most likely under the tutelage of the Kambun Master. With the latter's retirement or death around 1674, Moronobu became the preeminent ukiyo-e artist of Edo (Tokyo). "Moronobu's importance lay in his effective consolidation of the ephemeral styles of early genre painting and illustration, creating, in effect, the Ukiyo-e school." (R. Lane)

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