Monkey on a Rock; Monkey Trainer with Chinese Children and Puppy
Nagasawa Rosetsu, the son of a low-ranking samurai, was adopted by a Kyoto family and studied painting with Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795), the leading realist painter of the era. Following Ōkyo’s style, especially his naturalistic depiction of animals, birds, and fish, Rosetsu established a reputation as an eccentric but imaginative and popular artist. In this pair of paintings, he shows, at right, a macaque perched atop a rock entwined with pink-colored vines. In the left scroll, a man, probably a monkey trainer, appears startled by his companions: two young boys and a puppy. Monkeys, children, and puppies are subjects Rosetsu turned to time and again over the course of his relatively brief career.
Artwork Details
- 長澤蘆雪筆 岩上猿・猿回し師唐子狗児図
- Title: Monkey on a Rock; Monkey Trainer with Chinese Children and Puppy
- Artist: Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: late 1790s
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Pair of hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each): 44 9/16 × 17 13/16 in. (113.2 × 45.2 cm)
Overall with mounting (each): 76 in. × 21 9/16 in. (193 × 54.8 cm)
Overall with knobs (each): 76 in. × 23 9/16 in. (193 × 59.8 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.323.19a, b
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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