Daruma

Kawanabe Kyōsai1801-1900

Details

Title: Daruma
Creator Lifespan: 1831 - 1889
Creator Nationality: Japanese
Creator Gender: Male
Date Created: 1801-1900
Type: scroll paintings
Rights: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Crane Fund
External Link: http://www.imamuseum.org/mercury/load-artwork/9506
Medium: ink on paper
wall label: ___ Bodhidharma, the first Chinese Chan (Zen) patriarch, is said to have meditated facing a wall for nine years at the Shaolin monastery. He is the embodiment of fierce and unflagging determination. Yet it is difficult to decide whether the furrowed brows and grimacing mouth of Kyosai's figure signal firmness of will or befuddlement. The image fits into a long tradition of humorous caricature of Zen patriarchs. Determinedly rejecting superficial attractiveness or saccharine religious emotion, Zen art frequently seems iconoclastic and irreverent. Reflecting the spirit of its practitioners, Zen art emphasized getting to the heart of the matter rather than getting hung up on appearances. Ky_sai was a devout Buddhist.
period: Edo
measurements: 58 x 35 7/8 in. (image) 92 3/8 x 44 1/8 in. (overall)
Artist: Kawanabe Kyōsai

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