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Portrait of Daruma

Fūgai Ekun Japanese
early 17th century
Not on view
Daruma (Sanskrit: Bodhidharma) is the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, who, according to legend, sat in continuous meditation for nine years in a cave in northern China. Following the medieval tradition of monochromatic depictions of Daruma, the Sōtō sect Zen master Fūgai Ekun created numerous minimalist, powerful paintings such as this. The extensive blank space both accommodates an inscription and suggests a metaphysical state of nothingness.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 風外慧薫筆 達磨図
  • Title: Portrait of Daruma
  • Artist: Fūgai Ekun (Japanese, 1568–1654)
  • Period: Momoyama (1573–1615)–Edo (1615–1868) period
  • Date: early 17th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 30 1/2 x 12 1/8 in. (77.5 x 30.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.500.9.5
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Hotei Pointing at the Moon, Fūgai Ekun Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Hotei Pointing at the Moon
Fūgai Ekun
1650
Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan
Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute
Kano Tan'yū
mid-17th century
Beauty of the Kanbun Era, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Beauty of the Kanbun Era
Japan
late 17th century
Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses, Kaihō Yūsetsu Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan
Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses
Kaihō Yūsetsu
mid-17th century
White Plum Blossoms and Moon, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan
White Plum Blossoms and Moon
Itō Jakuchū
1755

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