The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 21, 2024

Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law

Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law

1100s
calligrapher

Liu Tao

(Chinese, late 1000s–early 1100s)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
Image: 92.4 x 40.5 cm (36 3/8 x 15 15/16 in.); Overall: 171.9 x 55.1 cm (67 11/16 x 21 11/16 in.); with knobs: 171.9 x 60.5 cm (67 11/16 x 23 13/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1974.29
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

A native of Hangzhou, the priest Dazhi was known for his eloquent exposition of Buddhist doctrines and for his success in winning many converts.

Description

Monk Yuanzhao, with the honorific title Dazhi Lüshi, Great Wisdom Master of Vinaya, is depicted here as an itinerant monk, holding his alms bowl in the left and staff in the right. In 1142, Emperor Gaozong had bestowed Yuanzhao with a posthumous title, mentioned in the inscription, which suggests that the portrait was made after the master’s death. A master of the Lü sect of Buddhism, with a calm benevolent smile on his face, Yuanzhao was active on Mount Tiantai and in Hangzhou. Later, Liu Tao, a southerner from Changxing, added the inscription.

The eulogy reads:
Dignified he is, perfect in his upasampada [ordination of a monk]. His appearance is like his mind. Uncompromising and aloof. His mind is like his appearance. To say he is square, he proves to be round. He looks timid, yet his spirit is unbound. Having no attachment, and holding no reins, men and deities alike take refuge in him. —translated by Wai-Kam Ho
  • before 1974
    Muto Collection
    ?–1974
    (Nisaburo Mizutani, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1974–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Mentioned: p. 103, no. 182; reproduced: p. 89 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “Varieties of Portraiture in Chinese and Japanese Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 4 (April 1977): 118–36. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 127. figs. 10-11 www.jstor.org
    Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan 奈良国立博物館. Nihon Bukkyō bijutsu no genryū [Sources of Japanese Buddhist art: special exhibitions = 日本仏敎美術の源流]. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, Shōwa 53 [1978] cat. no. 63
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 17, p. 29
    Admired from afar: masterworks of Japanese painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art [クリーブランド美術館展 : 名画でたどる日本の美 Kurīburando Bijutsukan ten: meiga de tadoru Nihon no bi ]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2014. Reproduced: fig. 2, p. 55
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Facing the Ancestors: Chinese Portraits and Figure Painting – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 12, 2019-February 2, 2020).
    Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 29, 2003-March 15, 2004).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    Sources of Japanese Buddhist Art. Nara National Museum, Nara 630, Japan (organizer) (April 29-June 10, 1978).
    Nihon bukkyo bijutsu no genryū [Sources of Japanese Buddhist art = 日本仏敎美術の源流]. Nara National Museum, Nara, Japan (April 29-June 11,1978).
    Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law|url=false|author=Liu Tao|year=1100s|access-date=21 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.29