Nagasawa Rosetsu's Largest Retrospective Opens at Museum Rietberg in Zurich
The Museum Rietberg in Zurich is hosting the largest-ever retrospective of Japanese painter Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799), featuring around sixty works from temples and museums in Japan, Germany, and the United States. The exhibition includes a 1:1 scale reconstruction of the Zen temple Muryōji in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, which is currently under renovation. This temple was Rosetsu's first major commission from his master Maruyama Ōkyo. The show highlights Rosetsu's stylistic versatility across formats—scrolls, screens, fans, and albums—and techniques, from delicate ink brushwork to finger painting. Notable works include the dynamic Tiger and Dragon facing each other in the central hall, reportedly painted in a single night. The exhibition runs until November 4, 2018, and some pieces are on display for only one to two months due to their fragility.
Key facts
- Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799) is a Japanese painter largely unknown in the West.
- The Museum Rietberg in Zurich hosts the largest monographic exhibition ever dedicated to Rosetsu.
- The exhibition includes a 1:1 reconstruction of the Zen temple Muryōji in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture.
- Muryōji is currently under renovation and its artworks have never left Japan before, except four panels shown at the Royal Academy in London in 1980.
- The show features about sixty works from Japanese temples and museums, as well as German and US institutions.
- Rosetsu was a student of Maruyama Ōkyo and known for his stylistic versatility.
- The Tiger and Dragon panels in the central hall were reportedly painted in a single night.
- Due to fragility, some works are exhibited for only one to two months and were replaced in early October 2018.
Entities
Artists
- Nagasawa Rosetsu
- Maruyama Ōkyo
- Itō Jakuchū
- Soga Shōhaku
- Antonio Ligabue
Institutions
- Museum Rietberg
- Muryōji
- Royal Academy of London
Locations
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Kushimoto
- Wakayama Prefecture
- Japan
- Germany
- United States