Skeletons Holding Seals, second half 19th century
Doi Gōgaexpand_more
Ink on paperexpand_more
Gift of the Clark Center for Japanese Art & Cultureexpand_more 2013.29.890
On View in Gallery APSexpand_more
Five inky skeletons with spindly limbs dance around, two of whom grasp seals in their bony hands. We can see right through their ribcages but elsewhere their bodies have the bulk and mass of the living; indeed, they are very much alive, and although they raise their
hands as if to scare, they appear more comical than ominous. Doi, a Confucian scholar and teacher, was known as an eccentric, and his playful side is evident in these dancing figures. The red seals bear writing in seal script, one of the earliest forms of writing, while the accompanying poem at the top right is written in cursive.
無論君体評妍
魄唯觀髑髏之活動
It does not matter if you are blessed with a beautiful form;
Just look at the actions of your skull
Details
- Title
- Skeletons Holding Seals
- Artist Life
- 1817 - 1881
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2013.29.890
- Curator Approved
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