COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1985.110
amicoid
CMA_.1985.110
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Paintings
oty
Paintings
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Gakuo
crn
Gakuo
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Role:
artist
crr
artist
Creator Role
false
Creator Dates/Places:
1793 - 1841
cdt
1793 - 1841
Creator Dates/Places
false
Gender:
M
cgn
M
Gender
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Gakuo
crt
Gakuo
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Water-Moon Kannon
otn
Water-Moon Kannon
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
late 15th-early 16th Century
oct
late 15th-early 16th Century
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1466
ocs
1466
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1533
oce
1533
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
hanging scroll; ink on paper
omd
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 104.5cm x 44cm
met
Overall: 104.5cm x 44cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1985.110
ooa
1985.110
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
John L. Severance Fund
ooc
John L. Severance Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon in Japanese) is among the most popular Buddhist deities in Japan. By at least the twelfth century, painted images of this merciful figure surrounded by water, lush vegetation, and bamboo were being imported from the continent and also painted within the compounds of Japan's own monastic institutions. While initially such imagery emerged from literary descriptions in important religious texts extolling the virtues of Kannon, by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Japan the deity depicted became more physically attractive and its presentation more varied. Shedding the guise of "foreignness" (Chinese or Korean), the white-robed manifestation of Kannon became the primary figural subject of medieval Zen painting. The relaxed swaying posture of Kannon lends an air of informality to this picture, enhancing the deity's appeal. The casual brushwork describing rocks, streambank, and water ripples accentuates this mood. Binding the composition together is a carefully orchestrated painting of subtly toned ink washes suffusing the atmosphere and illuminating the face and upper torso of the figure with the arc of the large halo. The composition and its constituent elements?especially the bamboo grove and the artist's clear delight in executing quick, almost rough, brushstrokes? mark a highly individualistic departure from normal representations of the time. Still, the fundamental Zen enigma remains accessible for pondering: which is more "real," the moon or its reflection? In the quest for spiritual awakening, Japan's medieval Zen monasteries embraced the use of paintings such as this white-robed Kannon as ceremonial objects and aids in instruction. Fresh interpretations of traditional Zen subjects were encouraged and they varied as widely as individual paths to enlightenment. M.R.C.
cxd
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon in Japanese) is among the most popular Buddhist deities in Japan. By at least the twelfth century, painted images of this merciful figure surrounded by water, lush vegetation, and bamboo were being imported from the continent and also painted within the compounds of Japan's own monastic institutions. While initially such imagery emerged from literary descriptions in important religious texts extolling the virtues of Kannon, by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Japan the deity depicted became more physically attractive and its presentation more varied. Shedding the guise of "foreignness" (Chinese or Korean), the white-robed manifestation of Kannon became the primary figural subject of medieval Zen painting. The relaxed swaying posture of Kannon lends an air of informality to this picture, enhancing the deity's appeal. The casual brushwork describing rocks, streambank, and water ripples accentuates this mood. Binding the composition together is a carefully orchestrated painting of subtly toned ink washes suffusing the atmosphere and illuminating the face and upper torso of the figure with the arc of the large halo. The composition and its constituent elements?especially the bamboo grove and the artist's clear delight in executing quick, almost rough, brushstrokes? mark a highly individualistic departure from normal representations of the time. Still, the fundamental Zen enigma remains accessible for pondering: which is more "real," the moon or its reflection? In the quest for spiritual awakening, Japan's medieval Zen monasteries embraced the use of paintings such as this white-robed Kannon as ceremonial objects and aids in instruction. Fresh interpretations of traditional Zen subjects were encouraged and they varied as widely as individual paths to enlightenment. M.R.C.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1985.110.tif
ril
CMA_.1985.110.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false