Exhibition ‘Nagasawa Rosetsu: The Fanciful Painter’ Opened

On March 12, the exhibition titled ‘Nagasawa Rosetsu: The Fanciful Painter’ opened at the Miho Museum (until June 5). The exhibition showcased 110 works by the painter NAGASAWA Rosetsu, who was active primarily in Kyoto during the late eighteenth century and painted works that astonish the eye with their bold compositions and brushwork. The exhibition consisted of six chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Learn from Ōkyo’, presented Rosetsu’s early works demonstrating his studies under his master Maruyama Ōkyo; Chapter 2 ‘Journey to Nanki’, featured works created in Nanki, where he travelled as Ōkyo’s representative; Chapter 3 ‘The Stranger is New’, gathered his innovative works produced after returning from Nanki to Kyoto; Chapter 4 ‘People Surrounding Rosetsu’, examined the environment surrounding Rosetsu; Chapter 5 ‘Interest in Light’, focused on his expression of light, which resonates with modernity; and Chapter 6 displayed the newly re-discovered ‘Five Hundred Arhats (方寸五百羅漢図)’, painted on a piece of paper approximately one-inch square. The exhibition re-examined Rosetsu’s artistic career, which made a break with tradition after mastering his master’s style. (Japanese)