The Tiger Fusuma (虎図襖, Tora zu Fusuma) is an Edo Period sliding door ink painting created in 1786 by artist Nagasawa Rosetsu, a student of Maruyama Ōkyo in the Maruyama school based in Kyoto. The painting is considered to be a masterpiece of Edo Period art, and also a divergence from his teacher's style. Housed in the Zen temple of Muryō-ji in the town of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, it is classified as an Important Cultural Property (重要文化財, jūyō bunkazai).[1][2][3]
| Tiger Fusuma | |
|---|---|
| Japanese: 虎図襖 | |
 | |
| Artist | Nagasawa Rosetsu |
| Year | 1786 |
| Subject | Tiger on Fusuma |
| Dimensions | Two Right Sides: 180.0×87.0 cm each; Left Four Sides: 183.5 x 115.5 cm each |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Japan) |
| Location | Kushimoto Ōkyo Rosetsu Art Museum, Muryō-ji, Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture |
Background
editAt Muryō-ji, local legend states that he completed the Tiger Fusuma with a companion piece, the Dragon Fusuma in the span of one night.[1]
Description
editThe Tiger Fusuma decorates the left side of the main hall of Muryō-ji's Buddhist altar room, composed of six total panels. The lower-right to the right side depicts ground in the form of a triangular formation.[3]
The centerpiece is the tiger, with an arc-shaped body from the eyes, the torso, the hind limbs and tail that corresponds to the Dragon Fusuma on the opposite side of the room.[3]
Depicted as fierce, the tiger is also anthropomorphized and also softened with more kitten-like features. It is likely that Rosetsu modelled his tiger on those on display at a private zoo, as tigers were known to be Chinese imports during the Edo period. It's divergence from depictions in Chinese painting indicates the development of his own style.[3][4]
Vigorous brushstrokes are used in addition to fingerpainting or shitoga.[1]
The painting signature reads "Hei Hyōkei sha" (copied by "Hyōkei of Kyoto") with the seal of "Gyo".[4]
Exhibition
editIn 1981, the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where it gained reception as a "masterpiece".[3][4]
The paint saw further exhibition outside of the temple in Japan in 2000, 2011, and 2017, before once again, being displayed abroad at the Rietberg Museum in Zürich, Switzerland.[1][5]
From 7 October to 3 December 2023, both the Tiger and the Dragon Fusuma are exhibited together in the first retrospective exhibit in Osaka for Rosetsu at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Heather (2018-08-27). "Nagasawa Rosetsu and The Tiger". Asian Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "串本応挙芦雪館とは -About Okyo Rosetsu Art Museum-". muryoji.jp. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ a b c d e "串本応挙芦雪館:室中之間 -The main hall of Muryo temple room No.3-". muryoji.jp. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ a b c The Great Japan Exhibition : art of the Edo period 1600-1868 : Royal Academy of Arts London 1981-2. Royal Academy of Arts; catalogue published in association with Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 1981. p. 90.
- ^ "Japan's Best-Known Tiger - Nagasawa Rosetsu at Rietberg Museum | Widewalls". www.widewalls.ch. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "NAGASAWA ROSETSU: The Legendary Edo Master of Eccentric Painting | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka". nakka-art.jp. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-10-25.