Artwork Page for Portrait Study of Seigen

Details / Information for Portrait Study of Seigen

Portrait Study of Seigen

1300s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)
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Medium
hanging scroll; ink and slight color on paper
Measurements
Image: 25.5 x 40.9 cm (10 1/16 x 16 1/8 in.); Overall: 107.8 x 53.4 cm (42 7/16 x 21 in.); with knobs: 107.8 x 58.2 cm (42 7/16 x 22 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1982.55
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The blotches on the monk's face may have been caused by smallpox.

Description

This is a portrait study of the monk Seigen (1162–1231). The inscription identifies him and notes that the study is after a portrait in the subtemple Jizō’in at Daigoji. The artist included scars from an illness, and made notations about the colors the clothing should be. Seigen was abbot of Daigoji, one of the most influential Esoteric Buddhist temples in Japanese history.
A hanging scroll depicts a portrait of Seigen, a man with light skin tone, turned slightly to our left. He wears a light-colored robe and has a bald head, thin mustache, and short beard. Dark gray spots mottle his forehead, cheeks, and neck. Vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy in black ink appear on the right and lower-left corner of the cream-colored background.

Portrait Study of Seigen

1300s

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

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