The Chinese Monks Hanshan and Shide
Data
| Artist | By Liang Ka |
|---|---|
| Period | China, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century |
| Materials and techniques | Hanging scroll, ink on paper |
| Size | 81.2×33.1 |
Explanation
Liang Kai was an artist who was invited to the Imperial Painting Academy but his painting style was spontaneous and freewheeling motivated by the Zen painters. It is hard to discern which of the two beaming, poorly clad characters is Hanshan and which is Shide, but the ambience of the two Zen eccentrics who transcended the secular world is captured wonderfully. It has the collector’s seal belonging to shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. Formerly owned by the Ashikaga family, Kobori Enshū and Matsudaira family of Wakasa (present Fukui prefecture).