2010.10.17
Buddha in Boston Museum
Artist
Shiko Munakata
(Aomori, Japan, 1903 - 1975, Kamakura, Japan)
Title
Buddha in Boston Museum
Creation Date
n.d.
Century
20th century
Dimensions
13 1/2 in. x 9 9/16 in. (34.29 cm x 24.29 cm)
Object Type
print
Creation Place
Asia, Japan
Medium and Support
woodblock on paper
Credit Line
Gift of D. Lee Rich, P’78 ‘80 and John Hubbard Rich, Jr. Class of 1939 Litt.D. 1974, P’78 ‘80
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2010.10.17
Shikō Munakata most frequently worked in monochrome, often depicting Buddhist subjects in his blocky, rough-cut prints. He tended to work quickly, and believed in allowing the material quality of the woodblock to come through. Munakata embraced his nationality, stating “When an artist strives for universality, for the width of universal appreciation, he ends up without depth, with only the superficial aspects of beauty. I don’t want to be universal. I deplore alien borrowings. I want my work to be purely Japanese.” In 1959 the artist visited the United States, when he likely made this image. Representing a hiten, or a heavenly being of Buddhism, this work references a sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The text on the print expresses how Munakata was moved by the hiten figure, which was weathered and aged by the many places it experienced throughout its journey.
