43
Artist
Itō JakuchūJapanese, 1716–1800
Japanese
Giant Daruma
late 18th century
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Image: 13 1/4 × 23 1/4 in. (33.7 × 59.1 cm)
Scroll: 76 1/8 × 32 7/8 in. (193.4 × 83.5 cm)
Storage box: 34 1/4 × 3 × 2 1/4 in. (87 × 7.6 × 5.7 cm)
The Gitter-Yelen Collection, gift of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter in honor of Gary Tinterow
2021.204
ProvenanceThe works will arrive with considerable documentation from the Gitter-Yelen Foundation and the Man’yoan Collection in New Orleans.Exhibition HistoryThis varies by object and will be added to files. It is currently available on the Gitter-Yelen Collection website.
Inscriptions, Signatures and MarksInscriptions vary by work and will be fully transcribed, transliterated, and translated upon receipt and study of works.
NA
“A mind like a thick wall. Eyes as bright as the sun and moon. Vast emptiness, nothing holy! Behold a dragon manifest right here! Respectfully inscribed by Tangai”1
Tangai’s inscription vividly describes Daruma’s imposing and impenetrable appearance but, like Itō Jakuchū’s charming portrait of the Zen master, also gently satirizes the monk by invoking one of his most famous quotations from his dialogue with Emperor Wu Liang. When asked about the first principle of Zen, Daruma replied, “Vast emptiness, nothing holy!” In this image, however, this quotation also references the “vast emptiness” of Daruma’s forehead, behind which lies great wisdom.
—Bradley Bailey