Daoist Master Fei Zhangfang with a Dragon Sesson Sh?kei ???? Japanese ca. 1555 to 1561 A figure in loose Daoist robes is seated on top of a cliff with his arms outspread. He stares in astonishment as a dragon rises from amid the surging waves. The composition is a tour-de-force of ink painting techniques. The ink outlines of the Chinese sage’s robe were painted with calligraphic brushstrokes of varying thickness and density. His hat and robe, and the edges of his sleeves and belt were highlighted with light ink washes. The sense of the figure’s surprise at what he sees is conveyed by delicate
Daoist Master Fei Zhangfang with a Dragon Sesson Sh?kei ???? Japanese ca. 1555 to 1561 A figure in loose Daoist robes is seated on top of a cliff with his arms outspread. He stares in astonishment as a dragon rises from amid the surging waves. The composition is a tour-de-force of ink painting techniques. The ink outlines of the Chinese sage’s robe were painted with calligraphic brushstrokes of varying thickness and density. His hat and robe, and the edges of his sleeves and belt were highlighted with light ink washes. The sense of the figure’s surprise at what he sees is conveyed by delicate lines describing his furrowed eyebrows, startled eyes, and gaping mouth—highlighted by his bristling whiskers! Light ink washes were then applied to give volume to his beard and hair. The rock cliff he sits upon was handled with ink washes in a “boneless” manner, contrasting with grasses that are rendered in short, abbreviated dabs of Daoist master’s left hand opens slightly from a fist, and his eyes stare to his lower left, suggesting he has just thrown something. Though barely discernable at first glance, directly beneath his hand is a bamboo staff that he has hurled into the frothy waves, which arerendered in reserve. Even though this area of the painting is heavily abraded, one can make out the sharp claws and long whiskers of a dragon rising upward just from where the bamboo staff has entered the water. This miraculous scenario explains the figure’s dramatic pose and facial expression. An arching waterfall pours from the valley above the figure and falls behind the dragon on the lower right of the image. The waterfall is also rendered in reserve, with surrounding ink wash giving it shape. Curly and continuous lines are drawn along the waterfall, suggesting fluidity and motion. The waterfall compositionally complements the figure and leads the viewer’s attention to the dragon, reinforcing the mythical beast’s role as the deity of bamboo s
Size: 2748px × 4000px
Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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