Lovers in the Garden, from an Untitled Series of Erotic Prints

From an untitled series of erotic prints in the Art Institute of Chicago, Lovers in the Garden, dated circa 1673 to 1681, is an oban sumizuri-e that exemplifies Moronobu's expansion of shunga settings beyond the interior of the brothel into the garden, the seasonal landscape, and the natural world. By relocating his lovers outdoors among rocks, plantings, and architectural follies, Moronobu introduced the seasonal and pastoral resonances that would become a hallmark of later ukiyo-e, where erotic and natural imagery often intertwined to suggest emotional or temporal symbolism. The work is printed in single-block black ink, with Moronobu's confident line carrying the entire description of figure, garment, foliage, and rock. His command of textile pattern, the inheritance of his family's embroidery practice, is on full display in the brocaded robes, while the garden setting is rendered with a sparser, more calligraphic touch that creates visual contrast. As one of his erotic series prints, the work also documents Moronobu's early use of the series format, the grouping of related prints under a common theme that would become the dominant organizational unit of ukiyo-e from his time through Hokusai and Hiroshige.