The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Puppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums

c. 1792–94

Nagasawa Rosetsu

(Japanese, 1754–1799)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Fusuma panels remounted as hanging scrolls; ink and slight color on paper
Each panel: 211.4 x 94 cm (83 1/4 x 37 in.); Each painting: 167.6 x 91.5 cm (66 x 36 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1970.71
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The round circular areas in the paintings' paper surfaces, each surrounded by a dark halo of embedded dirt and finger oils, indicate the location of the door "catches."

Description

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.
  • ?–1970
    (Setsu Gatodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1970–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1970.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 58, no. 2, 1971, pp. 22–71. Mentioned: no. 127, p. 69; Reproduced: p. 61 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 385 archive.org
    Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Mentioned: p. 33, p. 61; Reproduced: p. 35
  • Animals in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-December 10, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 24, 2013-July 21, 2014).
    Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983).
    A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981).
    Japanese Screens from the Museum and Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-May 8, 1977).
    Year in Review: 1970. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-March 7, 1971).
  • {{cite web|title=Puppies, Sparrows, and Chrysanthemums|url=false|author=Nagasawa Rosetsu|year=c. 1792–94|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1970.71