The Second Coming of the Fifth Patriarch

Description

A small boy, accompanied by his mother, is closing his hands in greeting to an old monk who has a young attendant standing behind him. Scholars believe the scene is a meeting between the fourth patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Daoxin 道信, and the little boy, who was the reincarnation of an old monk named Zaisong daozhe 栽松道者 (Pine Planter). They had encountered before, during which Daoxin advised the Pine Planter to endure a reincarnation as he was too old to reach enlightenment. This painting is done by Yintuoluo, an artist renowned for his simple and unadorned style.

Provenance

Masuda Takashi 益田孝 [1848–1938], Tokyo, Japan, by bequest to his son Masuda Taro (?–1938); Masuda Taro 益田太郎 [1875–1953], Tokyo, Japan; (Setsu Gatodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1967); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1967–)

The Second Coming of the Fifth Patriarch

Yintuoluo

c. mid-1300s

Accession Number

1967.211

Medium

section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll, ink on paper

Dimensions

Image: 32.7 x 44.6 cm (12 7/8 x 17 9/16 in.); Overall: 245 x 62 cm (96 7/16 x 24 7/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund