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Stag Cleaning a Fawn

Mori Sosen Japanese
ca. 1806–21
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A stag lowers his head and gently licks a fawn, a casual scene the artist surely saw enacted in the wild. Sosen painted it swiftly within the small area of the fan, brushing the deer’s fur using the mokkotsu (“boneless,” meaning without ink outlines) technique and tarashikomi ("dripping in," or mottled pigmentation) for their white spots, creating a gentle overall impression.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Stag Cleaning a Fawn
  • Artist: Mori Sosen (Japanese, 1747–1821)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1806–21
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Fan, mounted on ribs; ink and light color on coated fan paper
  • Dimensions: 6 7/8 × 18 1/2 in. (17.4 × 47 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 12 3/16 × 18 1/2 in. (31 × 47 cm)
  • Classification: Fans
  • Credit Line: Lent by Feinberg Collection
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art