Portrait of Gaofeng Yuanmiao, 1238-1295

Object Details

• Artist

  Chuan Shinko (1444-1457)

• School/Tradition

  Muromachi-Suiboku

• Label

  Paintings of this type are known as chinzo, a special term given to portraits of Zen (Chinese: Ch'an) priests. The sitter is the Chinese priest Kao-feng Yuan-miao (1239-1295), the twenty-eighth patriarch in the direct line of succession from the first Patriarch, Bodhidharma, the founder of the Ch'an school of Buddhism in China.

  The highly individualistic features, which include bushy hair, moustache, goatee as well as the wide-opened, fiery eyes and the long finger nails, convey something of the priest's inner strength. The prototypical portrait painted in China in 1290, five years before Kao-feng Yuan-miao's death, was brought to Japan in 1346, and still is preserved at the Houn-ji, Ibaragi prefecture. In the early portrait, however, Kao-feng is depicted in a full-length seated posture, facing right. The half-bust format of the Freer portrait may indicate that it belonged to a groups of portraits of patriarchs known as ressozo.

  The Freer portrait was painted by Chu'an Shinko of the Kencho-ji, who was active during the middle of the fifteenth century. Two seals above the left shoulder of Kao-feng are those of the artist's. The square relief seal reads "Chu'an," and the tripod relief seal reads "Shinko."

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Yamanaka & Company, Boston, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See letter in S.I. 419 Envelope File. Also, see Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 895, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan (March 5, 2022 - July 24, 2022)

  Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan (December 13, 2014 to June 14, 2015)

  Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006)

  The Idea of China in Japan: The Tea Ceremony in Japan (December 19, 1999 to June 11, 2000)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to June 27, 1994)

  Portraiture from Japan (July 1, 1983 to April 5, 1984)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

  Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s, 1560s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Zen Buddhism, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Priest, Japanese Art, Portraits, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings