Takuma Eiga 宅間栄賀 (fl. early 14th century) Search this
Medium:
Ink and color on silk
Dimensions:
H x W (image): 69.4 × 42 cm (27 5/16 × 16 9/16 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Japan
Date:
1333-1573
Period:
Muromachi period
Label:
The Buddhist deity Fugen, a bodhisattva (enlightened being), is usually depicted riding an elephant. In this small ink painting, the animal lies on the ground in what is clearly an earthly setting, while the youthful Fugen reads from a sutra (sacred text).
Zen Buddhism, which came to Japan from China, had a profound effect on Japanese spiritual and artistic life. Ink painting became established in Japan through the strong patronage of Zen monasteries, and its influence spread to artists of other sects.
Takuma Eiga was trained in traditional Buddhist painting techniques that used colors and gold. Here, only ink and the slightest tint of pink on the figure and the elephant are used. In contrast to the resplendent clothing and jewelry seen in traditional Buddhist paintings and sculpture, Fugen wears the robes of a Buddhist monk.
Provenance:
To 1904
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1904 [1]
From 1904 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1904 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Kakemono List, S.I. 42, pg. 134, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan (March 5, 2022 - July 24, 2022)
The Power of Words in an Age of Crisis (October 14, 2017 to May 6, 2018)
Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)
