By Mori Sosen
Late Edo period, 19th century
Donated by Kaga Kōzō
Mori Sosen was a Japanese painter of the Shijō school during the Edo period. While famous for his many paintings of monkeys — the Dutch orientalist and diplomat Robert van Gulik called him “an undisputed master” of the painting of the Japanese macaque — he also painted other animals, such as deer, boars, and peafowl.
This diptych depicts two monkeys — mother and child — clinging to a plum tree in one painting, and a monkey seated on a rock beside a pine tree, gazing at a waterfall. The paintings do not rely on outlines, but rather smooth, delicate lines that precisely capture the appearance of body fur and its softness. This work is from his most mature period as a painter after the age of 60, when he adopted the name ‘Sosen.’