A set of four fusuma (sliding doors) painted in ink on a buff ground by Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799). The moonlit landscape shows eleven puppies at play and sleeping on a riverbank.

Maruyama-Shijo school.

Signed: Heian Rosetsu sha.

Seals: Nagasawa Gyo in and Rosetsu (Painted by Rosetsu of Kyoto).

Japan, 18th century, Edo period.

Japanese buildings are often made up of rooms divided by fusuma (sliding doors); these are made of paper within a wood frame and gave rise to an important form of interior decoration. Castles, temples and the homes of the rich would employ famous artists to decorate these interiors. Maruyama Okyo and his pupils, including Rosetsu, painted a number of fusuma for temples where they remain to this day; and therefore, are rarely seen on the market. In 1786, on Okyo’s recommendation, Rosetsu toured Wakayama to paint fusuma in various temples there; he also received commissions from wealthy families in the area.

It is fair to assume that this set of fusuma, bearing the same seals as some of those used by Rosetsu whilst in the Province were painted during his tour of the region.

For a similar set of four fusuma in the collection of Mr & Mrs C.D. Carter, U.S.A. see: Maruyama, Seventy Years, Volume Two, p.248, pl. 464; a set of fusuma featuring puppies see: Exhibition Nagasawa Rosetsu: The 200th Anniversary of His Death. Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc 2000. Pp. 58 & 59, and a furosaki screen in the collection of Edo Sen-ke Kawakami Sosetsu, Tokyo, see: Nagasawa Rosetsu The Fanciful Painter, Miho Museum, pp. 96 & 97, pl. 40.