Tachibana Shozan
Shiba Dogs, 1837
Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper
Overall size 83 x 39 in. (209 x 98 cm)
Image size 54¼ x 32¼ in. (137.2 x 82.3 cm)
Image size 54¼ x 32¼ in. (137.2 x 82.3 cm)
T-3457
Further images
Depiction of around 80 gamboling adult and puppy Shiba dogs Signed 'Drawn in autumn 1837 by Shōzan [also known as] Tachibana of the Undefiled Dwelling)', with two seals Building on...
Depiction of around 80 gamboling adult and puppy Shiba dogs
Signed "Drawn in autumn 1837 by Shōzan [also known as] Tachibana of the Undefiled Dwelling)", with two seals
Building on an established tradition of dog painting (as well as a mid-Edo period fashion for compositions involving large groups of animals) the little-known painter and illustrator Tachibana Shōzan here brings us a mass of lively Shiba-inu (one of Japan’s favorite breeds), including both playful puppies and somewhat more placid adults. The celebrated painter Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1797), along with his leading pupil Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799), had popularized similar images in Kyoto a generation earlier and Shōzan here shows himself to be more than a match for his famed predecessors, succeeding like them in using the mokkotsu (boneless) style to depict the different muted tones of the animals’ coats with minimal outlines; only red textile toys held in the mouths of two dogs add a splash of contrasting color.
Signed "Drawn in autumn 1837 by Shōzan [also known as] Tachibana of the Undefiled Dwelling)", with two seals
Building on an established tradition of dog painting (as well as a mid-Edo period fashion for compositions involving large groups of animals) the little-known painter and illustrator Tachibana Shōzan here brings us a mass of lively Shiba-inu (one of Japan’s favorite breeds), including both playful puppies and somewhat more placid adults. The celebrated painter Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1797), along with his leading pupil Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799), had popularized similar images in Kyoto a generation earlier and Shōzan here shows himself to be more than a match for his famed predecessors, succeeding like them in using the mokkotsu (boneless) style to depict the different muted tones of the animals’ coats with minimal outlines; only red textile toys held in the mouths of two dogs add a splash of contrasting color.