The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment
1635–45
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
Image: 40 x 9 1/2 in. (101.6 x 24.1 cm) Overall with mounting: 70 1/2 x 10 in. (179.1 x 25.4 cm) Overall with rollers: W. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund, 2006
Accession Number
2006.174
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this narrow hanging scroll, a robed figure crouches near the base beside tall bamboo stalks, all rendered with swift, varying ink strokes on pale paper. The composition stretches vertically, leaving much of the surface open while calligraphy occupies the upper register and a few red seals punctuate the design. The restrained palette of blacks and grays highlights the expressive brushwork and the contrast between the dark, rounded form of the figure and the delicate lines of the bamboo. Created between 1635 and 1645 during Japan’s Edo period, this ink-on-paper hanging scroll bears the title The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment. It is attributed to the painter Kano Tan’yū working in collaboration with the Zen monk Takuan Sōhō. The spare, calligraphic style reflects the refined ink-painting traditions of the Kano school while evoking a moment of spiritual awakening central to Zen thought. Today the work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Asian art.
About the Artist
Kano Tan'yū|Takuan Sōhō 沢庵宗彭 (Japanese) · 1602 –1674
Japanese, 1602–1674