Monkey
Artist/Culture
Japanese
Date1700–1900
Mediumwatercolor on paper
Dimensions119 x 29.2 cm (46 7/8 x 11 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Robert C. Barton
Object number1970.129
Label TextThis charming painting, still in a paper mount, is full of spontaneity. The liveliness with which the artist depicted the monkey and his delicate rendering of its fur, places this hanging scroll in the tradition of Mori Sosen (1747-1821) and his follower Mori Ippo (1798-1871). Sosen, the best-known Japanese painter of monkeys, based his style on the observation of animals in their native forests. Trained in the Kano school, his decision to base his art on the study of nature rather than other paintings was shared by a number of other eighteenth century Japanese artists, particularly those of the Maruyama-Shijo school.
At the time the painting was treated for conservation, the decision was made to retain the paper mount which is original and is the way the painting would have been seen in the artist's studio. It is customary to have it mounted with silks for exhibition.ProvenanceMrs. Robert C. Barton, Harvard MAOn View
Not on view
