This special exhibition is the first retrospective exhibition in Osaka for Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799), one of the “eccentric painters” along with Ito Jakuchu and Soga Shohaku. Rosetsu has recently been attracting increasing attention internationally.

Rosetsu was active in Kyoto in the mid-Edo period, and he was a senior disciple of Maruyama Okyo, who brought sketching directly from nature into the world of Japanese painting. Rosetsu’s outstanding descriptive abilities, eccentric ideas and bold compositions complemented his willingness to please and entertain his audience through a unique world view with a spirit of fun and surprise, which contributed to his popularity.

Rosetsu loved to paint and energetically pursued new forms of expression and techniques. Even now, more than 200 years later, his masterpieces continue to fascinate viewers. This exhibition covers his early years through his final years, bringing together a body of work that includes such representative works as Dragon and Tiger on fusuma door panels (an Important Cultural Property) along with works exhibited for the first time as we explore the eccentric genius of Nagasawa Rosetsu.