Cleveland Museum of Art
Snails
Nagasawa RosetsuLinkedCulture matchlcp-f2893a98bd7e
- Date
- c. 1788–89
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink, color, and metallic pigments on paper
- Culture
- Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 160688
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
In this work, Nagasawa Rosetsu carefully described two snails in a manner known as “earth painting” ( doro-e ), building up colors mixed with crushed white shells in emulation of the thick brushstrokes of oil paint seen in European painting. A silvery metallic pigment indicates the snails’ trails, glistening along an earthen wall. Notably, one trail has no snail, leaving the viewer to guess why. Rosetsu was an independent painter active in Kyoto, Japan's cultural capital, known for his visual wit and superb range of technical skills.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Provenance
- ?–1998: (James J. Freeman, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | 1998–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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