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Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Bears Playing
Photo: Eduardo Calderon

Bears Playing

Dateearly 1920s
Maker Tomita Keisen Japanese, 1879 - 1936
Label TextIn a theme unusual among nihonga artists, Keisen painted black bears native to Japan, recognizable through distinguishing characteristics such as the slender snouts. Although Keisen traveled widely about the country, there is little possibility that he observed bears in the wild, yet his subjects display distinguishing characteristics such as the slender snouts and cavort playfully in a convincing manner. A lighthearted approach is typical of Keisen's animal painting.
Object number2010.41.43
Photo CreditPhoto: Eduardo Calderon
Published ReferencesMichiyo, Morioka; Berry, Paul. "Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, p. 181, illus. 48.
Credit LineGift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
Dimensions83 1/16 x 15 in. (211 x 38.1 cm)
MediumInk, scattered gold nashiji and colors on silk
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Tomita Keisen
late 1920s
Object number: 2010.41.41
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Tomita Keisen
late 1920s
Object number: 2010.41.39
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Tomita Keisen
ca.1917
Object number: 2010.41.40
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Tomita Keisen
1928
Object number: 2010.41.38
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Tomita Keisen
ca. 1915
Object number: 2010.41.42
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Kubota Beisen
ca. 1890
Object number: 2010.41.78
Landscapes of the Four Seasons
Morikawa Sobun
late 1890s
Object number: 2010.41.11
Drawing Water from a Mountain Stream
Murase Soseki
ca.1860
Object number: 2010.41.12
Listening to a Hototogisu in a Summer Valley
Suzuki Shonen
1914
Object number: 2010.41.15
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
Okochi Yako
late 1930s
Object number: 2010.41.76