Torii Kiyomasu I
Torii Kiyomasu, sometimes referred to as Torii Kiyomasu I, Torii Kiyomasu II, and Shōjirō, was a Japanese painter and printmaker who lived from the 1690s to sometime between 1716 and 1722, depending on the source. Kiyomasu was part of the Torii school and worked in the Ukiyo-e genre creating billboards and other advertisements for the kabuki theater. His work is noted for more his graceful lines and overall softer look while depicting dynamic scenes.
There is not much known about the life of Kiyomasu. It is believed that the works created by Kiyomasu I and Kiyomasu II are the same man, but it is still not definitive. Scholars believe Kiyomasu to be either the younger brother of one of the founders of the Torii school, Torii Kiyonobu I, or the same man working under a different name.
The Torii school (鳥居派), was a form of Ukiyo-e painting and printing that emerged in Edo, Japan. It began mainly after the arrival of Torii Kiyonobu in 1687. The Torii school worked with the kabuki theater to design and create signboards and other promotional materials. Ukiyo-e, which translates as “the floating world,” is the main style of woodblock printing in Japan and is meant to show the impermanence and fleeting beauty of the world and all within it (landscapes, entertainment, etc.). The subjects of Ukiyo-e art are diverse in their attempt to show all aspects of life.
One of the greatest inspirations for many of the famous Western artists during the end of the nineteenth century was the Japanese style. Japanese items, particularly art prints, became much more accessible and affordable after Japan opened trade with the rest of the world. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan broke their isolationist foreign policy and began trading with the West. Japanese goods flooded the market and Europeans and Americans couldn’t be satiated. This newly accessible style was so popular in Europe and America that the craze was even given a term; Japonism, or Japonisme.
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