Mu Qi

Mu Qi
Mu Qi, Guanyin, Monkeys, and Crane, Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Japan.

Mu Qi (Wade-Giles: Mu-ch'i) (Japanese: 牧谿 Mokkei), also known as FaChang or Muqi Fachang, was a Chinese painter and Chan monk who lived during the Southern Song Dynasty, approximately 1200-1270 CE (Mu Qi was his name as a painter, Fa Chang as a monk; his personal name is uncertain). Born in Sichuan he emigrated to the Southern Song capitol Lin An (now Hangzhou). His mentors in painting probably included his abbot Wu Jun and the painter Liang Kai. His works are considered among the most expressive of the Chan (aka Zen) style of painting.

Important works generally attributed to Mu Qi: presently in the Daitoku-ji in Kyoto are a triptych of Guan Yin flanked by a monkey family on one side and a crane on the other; Tiger; Dragon; and the much-reproduced Six Persimmons. Other works sometimes attributed to Mu Qi or as being "in the style of Mu Qi" include various nature studies and a Lohan painting in the Seikado museum.[1]

References

  1. ^ Loehr, Max (1980). The Great Painters of China. Oxford: Phaidon Press. pp. 219–225. ISBN 0-7148-2008-3.