Special Exhibition：
Are You a Dog Person or a Cat Person?
―From Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Takeuchi Seihō, and Lēonard Tsuguharu Fujita to Yamaguchi Akira

　

12 May (Sun.) – 7 July (Sun.) 2024
(Closed on Mondays)

Hours: 10 am - 5 pm (Last admission at 4:30 pm)

Admission Fees: Adults: 1,400 yen; University and high school students: 1,100 yen; middle school and younger children: free of charge; Disability ID holders and one accompanying person: 1,200 yen each
【Exhibition Timed-Entry Reservation】
*Discount for those who are wearing kimono: Discount of 200 yen for adults

Organized by: Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc.

Highlights of the Exhibition

Dog

Nagasawa Rosetsu, Puppies with Chrysanthemums, 18th Century, Color on Silk; private collection

Nishiyama Suishō, Puppies, 1957, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Nishimura Goun, Dog, 20th Century, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Cat

Takeuchi Seihō, Tabby Cat [Important Cultural Property], 1924, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Kobayashi Kokei, Cat, 1946, Color on Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Hayami Gyoshū, Emerald Mosses and Verdant Grass, 1928, Color on Gold-Leafed Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Other Animal

Yokoyama Taikan, Horned Owl, 1926, Ink and Light Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Uemura Shōkō, White Peacock, 1973, Color on Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Approximately 60 works in total are to be displayed.

Exhibition Overview

Recent years have seen an ever-growing pet boom. Of all the animals, the favorite pets are cats and dogs, and both have, since antiquity, been depicted in Japanese paintings. Since the modern period, many artists have created works with their beloved cats or dogs as their motifs. In this exhibition, the Yamatane Museum of Art introduces famous paintings of dogs and cats.

Being shown to the public for the first time is Courtesan and a Western Dog (private collection), a rare example of a work in which a European breed of dog, then an exotic variety, appears. Other works on loan from private collections include Rimpa School founder Tawaraya Sōtatsu’s Puppy, a sumi-e (ink painting) in which the Rimpa School founder lovingly remembers a dog. Puppies by Itō Jakuchū is particularly eye-catching because of the black and white contrast, while the puppies in Nagasawa Rosetsu’s richly expressive Puppies with Chrysanthemums are incredibly cute. Kawabata Ryūshi is another artist known for his love of dogs, whose pets Muk and Moll were his models for Autumn Begins and Veranda in Autumn, both on loan from the Ryushi Memorial Museum. Famous paintings depicting cats include Tabby Cat by Takeuchi Seihō, a leader in the modern art world. This painting from the Yamatane Museum of Art’s own collection has been designated an Important Cultural Property. Takeuchi Seihō serendipitously encountered this cat in Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture. The artist adored the cat and completed this work based on careful observation and sketching from life. Portrait of Mrs. Y by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita is from the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation collection. This bewitching painting depicts a woman and four cats. Cats on the Hunt for a Crane by contemporary artist Yamaguchi Akira anthropomorphizes the cats in the artist’s unique style.

For this exhibition we have brought together Edo-period masterpieces by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Itō Jakuchū, Nagasawa Rosetsu, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, works by Takeuchi Seihō, Nishimura Goun, Nishiyama Suishō, and other artists of the modern Kyoto art world whose forte was paintings of animals, and leading artists in the modern Tokyo art world, including Kobayashi Kokei, Kawabata Ryūshi, Okumura Togyū, and Hayami Gyoshū. To these we have added works by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita and the contemporary artist Yamaguchi Akira, who is active now, to bring together a rich variety of extraordinary depictions of dogs and cats. These beloved animals are waiting for visitors, eager to welcome dog and cat lovers alike.

In this exhibition, visitors will find a richly varied array of paintings of dogs and cats, ranging in period from Edo to contemporary. Pet lovers are sure to enjoy these works.
The works on display also include famous bird-and-flower paintings.