Hermit with Wand and Chrysanthemums
Signed by Shohaku Soga (1730-1781)
Edo Period, 18th century
Ink on silk
42 x 104 cm
Cat:266039
© The Field Museum
The image of an old man carrying a staff with chrysanthemums hanging from it is a conventional subject associated with the Chinese hermit tradition. The hermit tradition in China can be dated back to Tao Yuanming, an intellectual living in Eastern Jin Dynasty (A.D. 317-420) who resigned his official position and returned to the mountains to enjoy a quiet life not encumbered by secular business. Tao wrote a poem called "Drinking Alcohol" to express his enjoyment with hermit life, a line out of which was popularly used by later literati to express their admiration for Tao's lifestyle. The line says, "Picked up chrysanthemums at the eastern fencing, the southern mountain came into my eyes gradually." Since then, the chrysanthemum has become an evocative symbol of hermit life.
The figure in this painting is holding a staff with chrysanthemums, maybe just back from picking the flowers. His ragged robe, straw shoes and skinny body show that he leads a materially simple life. While his robe is depicted with rough, quick and dry brushes, his face has a gentle tone. He is smiling, eyes staring ahead, seemingly quite satisfied with his life.
Using no outlines for the most part in the painting, the painter is not confined, and his brushwork achieves a certain level of freedom. The artist executes the painting in a spontaneous way, constantly shifting the strength and direction of his brushwork, into which he infuses his own personality and interpretation of the subject. His simplistic treatment of the figure shows the remote influence of Liang Kai and Fa Chang, two Chinese painters who lived during the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1127-1279), and whose many figure paintings, using simplistic technique, spread to Japan and became highly respected there.
Shohaku Soga is categorized as an eccentric painter in the art world of Kyoto. He first studied in the Kano school, and then gradually established a manner of his own. He was regarded as fanatic by his contemporaries and lived in obscurity and poverty untill his death. Today, Shohaku's work is highly valued for its directness and strength, and, although there are many copies of his paintings, this Hermit with Wand and Chrysanthemums is clearly in the style of Shohaku.
(Commentary by Juan Peng)