Chinese Children Playing with an Elephant right of a pair, late 18th-mid 19th century, Style of Nagasawa Rosetsu, Japanese, 1754 - 1799, 66 1/4 ¡Ñ 141 in. (168.28 ¡Ñ 358.14 cm) (image)67 3/4 ¡Ñ 142 1/2 in. (172.09 ¡Ñ 361.95 cm) (outer frame), Ink and gold on paper, Japan, 18th - 19th century, Japanese artists, catering to the sentimental tastes of their customers, routinely depicted groups of children at play. Rosetsu brought new vitality to this stock subject by showing the youngsters doing unusual activities. Here, in the right screen, several Chinese children explore the enormous proportions of a gentle white elephant, which seems to smile, tickled by the tiny feet on its great, lumpy back. In the left screen, the youngsters participate in a game of 'child snatching' whereby a 'catcher' (at the extreme right) tries to grab a child who is protected by a 'parent,' who stands at the head of the long, winding line with outstretched arms.