Bodhidharma

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Bodhidharma

1368-1911

Artist/maker unknown, Chinese

The colophon on this work talks about Wangguan, a painter who specialized in Buddhist figures, and Bodhidharma, the subject of the painting. Generally thought to have been a prince in southern India, Bodhidharma (known as Daruma in Japan) became a Buddhist monk and traveled to China in the early sixth century to help propagate Buddhism. He practiced asceticism at the Shaolin Temple in the Songshan Mountains near Luoyang and meditated facing a cave wall for nine years until he was spiritually awakened. Bodhidharma is the twenty-eighth Patriarch of Buddhism and the founder of Zen Buddhism. The priest on the left is his disciple and successor, Huike.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Bodhidharma

Date:

1368-1911

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Chinese

Medium:

Ink and color on silk; mounted as a hanging scroll

Dimensions:

32 7/8 × 18 7/16 inches (83.5 × 46.8 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Purchased with Museum funds from the Simkhovitch Collection, 1929

Accession Number:

1929-40-136

Geography:

Made in China, Asia

Context:

Dynasty: Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) or Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

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