This is a masterpiece of Nagasawa Rosetsu, who has gained popularity in recent years as an eccentric painter with similarities to Ito Jakuchu and Soga Shohaku. Rosetsu was born to a samurai family in Kyoto and studied under Maruyama Okyo, a leading Edo-period painter. He revealed his talent early on and performed brilliantly as a senior disciple of Okyo. The bull and elephant in this work reflect the outstanding technique of the Maruyama school, which emphasizes reality. However, Rosetsu's wit is even more appealing. The bold composition of the white elephant and the black bull, which are so large they almost seem burst from the pair of six-fold screens, fully reflects Rosetsu's sense of beauty, which has remained fresh for more than 200 years. The same can be said of the exquisite contrast between large and small and black and white evident in the arrangement of the small black birds and white puppy that respectively emphasize the huge size of the elephant and bull.