Zen eccentric contemplating a fish

Description

Kanō Tsunenobu
Japan, 1636–1713
Zen Eccentric Contemplating a Fish
Edo period (1615–1868)
Late 17th–early 18th century
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Museum purchase, 1962/1.105

Among the new categories of imagery introduced to East Asian
art by Zen Buddhism is the “eccentric,” a figure that defies the
restrictions of the human body or the basic norms of Buddhist
behavior, and in so doing demands that we question our
assumptions about logic and reality. This disarmingly modest ink
painting presents a shabbily dressed man holding a small fish
at arm’s length, entirely focused on his catch. From a traditional
Buddhist standpoint, the subject is eccentric because he is violating
a taboo against the consumption of flesh. But the Zen view is that
distinctions between ostensible opposites—such as vegetable
and non-vegetable—are illusory. The style of the painting is also
unorthodox. The artist has sketched the face, hands, and feet in a
deliberately simplistic way, and the costume is drawn with a few
swift, calligraphic slashes of the brush that bleed into each other.
Are we looking at the image of a fish-eater, or a blur of ink on
paper?

Spring/Summer 2021 Gallery Rotation
__________

Among the new categories of imagery introduced to East Asian art by Zen is that of the “eccentric.” Sometimes such characters are loosely based on historical figures, but more often they appear to be inventions of the Chinese imagination. The eccentrics are not simply odd, awkward at small talk, or rude at the dinner table. A Zen eccentric defies the restrictions of the human body or the basic norms of Buddhist behavior, and in so doing demands that we question our ready assumptions about logic and reality. Artists reveled in the chance to paint eccentrics, and these works are often full of visual wit and humor.
This disarmingly modest ink painting presents us with the figure of a shabbily dressed fellow who holds out at arm’s length a small fish. He is completely focused on his catch, and his mouth almost seems to drool. From the traditional Buddhist standpoint, the subject is eccentric because he is violating a taboo against the consumption of flesh. The Zen view is that distinctions between ostensible opposites—vegetable, non-vegetable—are illusory. The style of the painting also departs from orthodox norms. The face, hands, and feet are sketched in a deliberately simplistic way, while the costume is drawn with only a few swift slashes of the brush, and the strokes bleed into each other. Are we looking at the image of a fish-eater, or a blur of ink on paper?
This work is tentatively assigned to the Kano school artist Tsunenobu (1636–1713) on the basis of the signature, but it it difficult to find similar works in his known oeuvre; the seal has not been deciphered.
Arts of Zen, February 15-June 15, 2003
M. Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
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Among the new categories of imagery introduced to East Asian art by Zen is that of the “eccentric.” Sometimes such characters are loosely based on historical figures, but more often they appear to be inventions of the Chinese imagination. A Zen eccentric defies the restrictions of the human body or the basic norms of Buddhist behavior, and in so doing demands that we question our ready assumptions about logic and reality. Artists reveled in the chance to paint eccentrics, and these works are often full
of visual wit and humor.
This disarmingly modest ink painting presents us with the figure of a shabbily dressed fellow who holds out at arm’s length a small fish. From the traditional Buddhist standpoint, the subject is eccentric because he is violating a taboo against the consumption of flesh. The Zen view is that distinctions between ostensible opposites—vegetable, non-vegetable—are illusory. The style of the painting also departs from orthodox norms. The face, hands, and feet are sketched in a deliberately simplistic way, while the costume is drawn with only a few swift slashes of the brush and the strokes bleed into each other. Are we looking at the image of a fish-eater, or a blur of ink on paper?
(6/28/10)
(Japanese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2010)