Shōkei

Shōkei: landscape

Shōkei ( Japanese 祥 敬 , also Kenkō Shōkei (賢 江祥敬); active between 1478 and 1506) was a Japanese monk-painter of the Muromachi period .

life and work

Shōkei was a monk-painter, active in the late 15th to early 16th centuries. Since he held the position of secretary of the Kenchō-ji , one of the important temples of Kamakura , he is often called Kei Shoki. In 1478 he went to Kyoto and studied painting under Geiami (芸 阿 弥; 1431–1485). Through Geiami's mediation, Shōkei was able to see the Chinese sculptures owned by the Muromachi Shounat: they evidently became a basis for his own work. When he returned to Kamakura in 1480, Geiami gave him the picture "観 瀑 図" (Kambaku zu, looking at a waterfall) with.

Then Shōkei stayed in Kamakura and devoted himself entirely to painting. During this time he created works such as "富士山 図" (Fujisan zu, Mount Fuji ) in 1490, "Sōsessai zu" (hut in the snow; 1499) and 1500 "喜 江 禅師 像" (Kikō Zenji zō, image of the Zen- Priest Kiko). As this list shows, Shōkei created pictures of very different types, landscapes, flowers-and-birds pictures and portraits. In doing so, he exerted a great influence on the development of painting in the Kantō area.

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} Owned by the Nezu Museum .
2. ^ In the possession of the Tokyo National Museum
3. ↑ Owned by the Seikadō Art Museum .
4. ↑ In the possession of the Kenchō-ji.

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Shōkei . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Shōkei . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Kenkō Shōkei  - collection of images

' Japanese name: As is customary in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Shōkei is the family name, ' the first name.