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Laughing Monk with Raised Staff

Kakemono, unique work, 220 x 65 cm
Product number: 3521

Sold – no longer available

This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.

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Details about the sold piece

  • Height 220 cm
  • Width 65 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Paper
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
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No longer available

Description

With a mischievous smile on his face and a slightly stooped posture, the figure depicted on this hanging scroll appears remarkably lively. The brush renders the folds of the robe in bold, spontaneous strokes, making the figure's movement almost palpable.

Such depictions of monks are among the popular motifs of Zen-influenced ink painting, which favors expressiveness and character over naturalistic precision. The work was created in the Shôwa period on paper and shows a reduced yet highly effective brushwork.

The jikusaki made of wood rounds off the traditional mounting fittingly. This hanging scroll is excellently suited for anyone interested in the humorous, unconventional side of Japanese religious painting.

Frequently asked

No – as a one-of-a-kind piece it exists in a single example only.
We would be glad to look for one. Get in touch with the details of the object you are looking for and we will see what we can do.
Because the two pieces of information speak about different things: the period designation describes the object – support, colors, condition – while the signature reflects which name appears on the painting. In most cases there is no attempt at deception behind this, but rather Japanese painting training: copying from workshop models was the curriculum for centuries, an utsushi is regarded as a bow to the teacher, workshops signed with the master's name, and artist names were passed down within a school. Such a hanging scroll is therefore not a forgery, but a hand-painted one-of-a-kind that continues the formal language of its school – just not the work of the famous name, and priced accordingly. We explain this in detail in the guide Why does a kakemono often bear the signature of an artist long deceased?.