Terrapin with Its Young

Datec. 1780

Artist Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754-1799)

CultureJapanese

MediumBrush and ink on paper

DimensionsOverall (Open): 50 1/2 × 29 in. (128.3 × 73.7 cm)
Image: 16 × 20 5/8 in. (40.6 × 52.4 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Fund

On View

Not on view

Period18th c - Edo period (1615-1868)

Classification(s)

Painting

SignedSigned: Rosetsu; (sealed): Gyo Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-99)

BibliographyMundy, James, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center: Vassar College The History and Collection (New York: Prestel Publishing, 2007), p. 62 repr. DescriptionRosetsu was a Maruyama painter. He was born and raised in the family of a low-ranking samurai of the Yodo clan in Yamashiro and was a student of the painter Okyo, but was dismissed from his studio for his unruly behavior. An intimate friend of the Confucian scholar Minagawa Kien, with whom he occasionally collaborated, Rosetsu was a highly eccentric individual and has been termed one of the small group of ‘Individualist’ painters of the Edo period. The sliding screens that he painted for a number of temples during his travels in the year 1787 mark his stylistic departure from the influence of Okyo. He also painted subjects of the Ukiyo-e (the ‘Floating World’), particu- larly those of the ‘beautiful women.’ He was also fond of animal subjects, painting bold compositions with a touch of humor. This mother terrapin with its young is an example that suggests the engaging maternal bond between this unprepossessing animal and her offspring.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu