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Puppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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 human condition.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePuppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums, c. 1792–94. Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799). Fusuma panel remounted as a hanging scroll; ink and slight color on paper; overall: 211.4 x 94 cm (83 1/4 x 37 in.); painted surface: 167.6 x 91.5 cm (66 x 36 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1970.71.4
