Man with Fish c. 19th century

Nagasawa Rosetsu, born in 1754, created "Man with Fish" with ink on paper. The composition hangs vertically with a lone figure centrally located beneath a sparce branch. The monochromatic palette is dominated by muted shades of gray. The artist's brushstrokes dance between detailed precision and expressive abstraction. Rosetsu uses line to articulate the wetness and texture of the fisherman's scruffy hair and the scales on his fish, but also gives the man exaggerated bare feet and a crooked jaw. This distortion of form complicates our understanding of realism. Rosetsu's representation might seem grotesque, but it also acknowledges the fundamental human condition, existing as a figure of labor, as well as a representation of a lived environment in close proximity to nature. Here, the visual language explores the dichotomy between the ideal and the imperfect. We are left questioning the nature of representation, and what constitutes beauty in the everyday.