雲中散華

Murakami Kagaku (1888-1939) was born in Osaka and was an active painter in Kyoto and Kobe. During his later years, Kagaku was plagued by worsening asthma, which often forced him to lay down. Troubled by his lack of enlightenment, he impatiently wondered how far he could progress in what little time was left to him. In this time of affliction, he created the benign expression on the face of this Kannon flying through clouds and scattering petals. Rendered with a soft touch, the drawn lines also hint of a comforting vision of serenity in the afterlife. He completed this work in the year of his death. Aged only 51, he passed away in November 1939.