Puppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums
1793
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1793
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Puppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums is a 1793 unspecified by Nagasawa Rosetsu, a Nihonga work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows puppies below, sparrows on a trellis, and bright chrysanthemums above. The door pulls used to slide these panels are still visible as empty circles. Rosetsu painted these sliding doors for a home around 1793. The little dog tilting his head looks like he’s listening to the sparrows chirp. The puppies play while the birds hop among the flowers. These bright, playful scenes were meant to decorate a room, not just hang on a wall. You’ll find this at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
These paintings were originally mounted as sliding doors ( fusuma ) used inside a building. The circular areas on the paintings’ paper surfaces are traces of the former positions of the door pulls ( hikite ). A flock of sparrows gathers on a trellis supporting flowering chrysanthemum. Below is a litter of puppies, some cavorting, others napping. The tender story created by the curious puppy peering up and tilting its head to listen to the bird’s insistent call (in the leftmost part of the composition) is characteristic of Nagasawa Rosetsu’s paintings, which often use animals to illustrate the…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Nagasawa Rosetsu (長沢芦雪; 1754–1799) was a Japanese painter during the Edo period. A disciple of the Maruyama School, he was known for his versatile artistic style. He was born to the family of a low-ranking samurai. He…
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