# Monkeys by a Stream

- By: Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)
- Date: c. 1796
- Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Overall: 164.4 x 95.4 cm (64 3/4 x 37 9/16 in.)
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Credit line: Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.192)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1985.192/1985.192_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The two monkeys in this painting are Japanese macaques. The one in front dangles its left leg over a sharply angled rock, surveying the land beyond a fast-moving mountain stream. A smaller monkey sits behind it, looking directly ahead as if it realizes it is being watched. The artist used just a few highly contrasting warm and cool colors, sweeping brushstrokes over ink washes, and loose lines to create a scene that powerfully evokes the mentally engaged state of the two animals.