The storage box of this painting includes an authentication label with the text “Carp, [on the] right, [by] Fan Anren.” “On the right” here probably means that the work once was the right part of a diptych or triptych of hanging scrolls, which in premodern parlance referred to the work hung on the left. According to another accompanying document by the calligraphy connoisseur Kohitsu Ryochu (1820–1891), this label is from the hand of eminent Muromachi-period painter Soami (d. 1525). Ryochu also ascribes the box inscription to Kobori Sochu (1786–1867, the head of Enshu school of Chanoyu), and adds that at the time of writing the scroll was in his own collection. If Ryochu’s judgement should be trusted may be open to question but considering Soami’s erudition in terms of Chinese painting it appears plausible that he would ascribe such a painting to either Fan Anren of the Southern Song or Lai’an of the Yuan dynasty. At least, both were listed as expert painters of fish in Kundaikan sochoki, the catalog of Chinese painters by Soami and his grandfather Noami.

There are a few works ascribed to Fan Anren in Japan, yet sound attributions remain the exception. Fan Anren was from Jiangnan area where the tradition of fish painting in ink continued from the Northern Song period. However, for the most part such works are unsigned and undated. The earliest dated example is The Pleasures of Fishes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, painted in 1291 by Zhou Dongqing. This is followed by Fish and Watergrasses in the Tokyo National Museum, painted by Liu Jie and with an inscription by Bian Rong (1419–1487), which likely places the work in the late fifteenth century.

In both paintings the body of the carp is twisted in a similar manner like in the present work, which is one of the most common poses artists would choose for depicting carp. Among Kano Tan’yu’s shukuzu (abbreviated copies of ancient masters) we also find five examples of similar carp paintings, two of which Tan’yu ascribes to Lai’an.

Compared to Zhou Dongqing and Liu Jie this painting depicts the carp with an unnaturally long back fin. If this was intentional it would constitute a deviation from the naturalistic tradition of the Southern Song dynasty. In consequence, it would be difficult to maintain the attribution to Fan Anren, and one would perhaps have to place the work in the late Ming dynasty.

Fish paintings of this particular type are known under the generic title of Sogyo-zu (Fish and waterweed) as they usually depict the fish among underwater plants. Here, however, the carp is paired with a lotus plant. This is the same pairing that can be found on two panels of a set of eight small sliding door paintings at the Juko in subtemple of Daitokuji temple (Kyoto), painted by Kano Shoei (1519–1592). If the carp on the leftmost of these two panels was mirrored vertically, it would result in a composition similar to this painting. Moreover, the unusual, long back fin and the relatively small size of the lotus also correspond to Shoei’s panels. One recalls here that according to the label, Carp is the right part of a pair or triptych, i.e. it would be hung on the left side. There are stylistic differences between Shoei’s panels and Carp, but it appears possible that Shoei was familiar with works like the present one.

Fan Anren (painter; act. 13th c.)
Painter of the Southern Song (1127–1279). Today of obscure status, Fan Anren is known in Japan from his mention in Kundaikan sochoki (1476), the manual of tea culture and decoration by Noami, cultural adviser of the Ashikaga shoguns. As a member of the Imperial Academy at the Song court during the Baoyou era (1253–1258), Fan Anren is mentioned in Chinese sources such as Precious Mirror of Painting (Tuhui Baojian, foreword dated 1365), Wanli Era Annals of Hangzhou (Wanli Hangzhou fuzhi, early 17th c.) and History of Painting and Drawing (Huashi huiyao, 1631).