268 - NAGASAWA ROSETSU: THE SNOW-COVERED SUMMIT OF MOUNT FUJI RISING ABOVE THE MIST

NAGASAWA ROSETSU: THE SNOW-COVERED SUMMIT OF MOUNT FUJI RISING ABOVE THE MIST By Nagasawa Rosetsu 1754-1799, with seal Gyo Japan, c. 1794-95, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Forrer, Matthi [ed.] (2020) Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, p. 174, cat. no. 158. Exhibited: MUSEC Villa Malpensata, Lugano, Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, 17 July 2020-11 April 2021. MAO Museo d'Arte Orientale, Turin, Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, 12 November 2021-25 April 2022. Ink on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a silk brocade frame with black-lacquered wood jikusaki (roller ends). Finely painted with the snow-covered summit of Mount Fuji emerging from dense banks of mist, its long sloping flank extending diagonally across the composition. The mountain is rendered in subtle gradations of ink, with dark, jagged brushwork defining the exposed rocks and softer washes forming the surrounding clouds, creating a striking sense of depth and atmosphere. Inscriptions: To the bottom left, sealed 魚 Gyo [fish]. To the back, inscribed 蘆雪 不二 Rosetsu Fuji Image SIZE 25.4 x 45 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 108.5 x 47.4 cm Provenance: Ex-collection Dr. Claudio Perino, Turin, Italy, acquired mostly in Japan in the early 2000s. Dr. Claudio Perino (b. 1951) is a collector with a keen interest in Japanese, Chinese and Far Eastern cultures. His collection consists of over 2000 works of art, partly loaned to the Museum of Oriental Arts (MAO) in Turin, Italy and to the Museo delle Culture (MUSEC) in Lugano, Switzerland. Condition: Good condition with wear, some soiling, scattered stains, and minor foxing. The mounting with signs of wear and use, soiling, creasing, and folds. Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799) was an 18 th-century Japanese painter of the Maruyama School, known for his versatile style. He was born into the family of a low-ranking samurai. He studied with Maruyama Okyo in Kyoto. Rosetsu's early period works are in the style of Maruyama Okyo, although critics agree that the pupil's skill quickly surpassed his master's. Finally, they had a falling out and Rosetsu left the school. After the break, he worked under the patronage of the feudal lord of Yodo and accepted commissions from several temples. His works are kept in many museums worldwide, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Harvard Art Museums, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and many more. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related hanging scroll by the same artist, Mt. Fuji in Distance, dated to the mid-1790s, ink on silk, 164.7 x 64 cm, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., accession number F2021.4.21a-f. Compare a closely related hanging scroll by the same artist, Moonlit Landscape, dated 1794-95, 97.5 x 40.5 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object number 2020.392.