Portrait of Bodhidharma

Maker(s)
Artist: Traditionally attributed to Wuzhun Shifan (傳) 無準師範 (1178-1249)
Historical period(s)
Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Medium
Ink on silk
Dimensions
H x W (image): 90.7 x 49.3 cm (35 11/16 x 19 7/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1906.261
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

Keywords
Bodhidharma, Buddhism, China, portrait, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Zen Buddhism
Provenance

To 1906
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1906 [1]

From 1906 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1906 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 534, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Bunkio Matsuki (C.L. Freer source) 1867-1940

Label

To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.

Published References
  • Thomas Lawton. "画中人 上海书画出版社." Chinese Figure Painting. Shanghai, China. .
  • Natasha Heller. Illusory Abiding: The Cultural Construction of the Chan Monk Zhongfeng Mingben. .
  • Suzuki Kei. Chugoku kaiga sogo zuroku [Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Painting]. 5 vols., Tokyo, 1982-1983. vol. 1: p. 250.
  • Hugo Munsterberg. Zen and Oriental Art. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo. p. 52.
  • Thomas Lawton. Chinese Figure Painting. Exh. cat. Washington, 1973. cat. 23, pp. 108-109.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.