Figure of a Woman

Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1768) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and painter known for the expressive, humorous Zen paintings that make him one of the most distinctive painters of the Edo period. Figure of a Woman from the early to mid-1700s depicts a female figure in the expressive, spontaneous manner that distinguishes Hakuin's best Zen paintings from the more formal religious painting of his contemporaries. Hakuin's Zen paintings—combining spontaneous brushwork with Zen Buddhist subjects and humor—represent one of the most distinctive types of Edo period painting, and Figure of a Woman shows his distinctive manner applied to a secular subject.

Figure of a Woman is important in the history of Japanese Zen painting because it demonstrates the expressive, humorous manner that Hakuin brought to both religious and secular subjects. Hakuin's Zen paintings—combining the spontaneous brushwork of Zen calligraphy with humorous subjects—represent one of the most distinctive types of Edo period painting, and Figure of a Woman shows this distinctive manner applied to a secular rather than religious subject.

Figure of a Woman is Hakuin's expressive Zen manner: a female figure rendered in the spontaneous, humorous brushwork that makes him one of the most distinctive Zen painters of the Edo period. The early to mid-1700s painting shows the Zen master's distinctive manner applied to a secular subject, combining spontaneous brushwork with humor.