Hanshan and Shide

JAPAN; Muromachi period

Hanshan and Shide, called Kanzan and Jittoku in Japan, lived on Tiantaishan during the Tang dynasty (618–907). They wrote poetry and were known for their carefree, eccentric behavior. People eventually came to believe that they were incarnations of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas. The painter of this picture, Shokei, was a Japanese artist active during the late Muromachi period (1392–1573). His surviving works include landscape paintings and portraits of Buddhist and Daoist figures. Dated from mid-15th century, this painting is listed as an Important Cultural Property.
In this painting, as in many others of these two figures, they stand close together. Their enigmatic, joyful smiles are also characteristic. Depicted with unruly hair, the two figures are rendered with ink lines of varying intensity and thickness which appear carelessly applied at first glance. This is in fact deliberate, and a more careful examination of the lines used to depict the facial features and the garment folds reveals great care taken by the artist to create a simplistic yet radiant composition. The empty background and clean lines of this painting enhance the vividness of the two figures.