Six Persimmons
“Six Persimmons” by Muqi.
Cultivating empathy, focus, and a dedication to joy and practice.
Painted by the 13th Century Chinese Monk, Muqi, “Six Persimmons” is an 800-year-old ink painting. It currently resides in the Daitokuji Royokoin Zen Temple in Kyoto, Japan. It was, however, recently exhibited in San Francisco at the Asian Art Museum, having left the temple of the first time.
The story of how “Six Persimmons”, one of the most famous paintings in the history of art made an appearance in the United States, is worth further consideration. It highlights the wonderful notion that art is able to cultivate empathy, and demonstrates the power of the artist as capable of sharing their practice to create joy.
As the San Francisco Chronicle shared,
“When Abbot Kobori Geppo of Daitokuji Ryokoin Zen Temple in Kyoto, Japan, visited the Asian Art Museum in 2017, he spontaneously offered to lend two of the most famous Chinese ink paintings in the world for the very first time in their 800-year history, with the hope that they might cultivate empathy.”
The story goes that while visiting San Francisco, the Abbot was so struck by his encounters with the citizens of the city, especially those on the streets, that he decided to offer the paintings to be exhibited as a way to inspire and cultivate empathy. He had hoped, as the museum curated later would describe, that “visitors to the exhibition will experience a moment of harmony and peace to take with them as they face the tribulations of daily life.”
What a profound thought, that a painting, hanging in a museum, on loan from a temple half way around the world, created nearly a millennial ago by a monk, could have such an impact on an ordinary, everyday person, that the painting could literally change their life and create a connection or spark an idea of instigate compassion - now, if that doesn’t inspire a sense of humanity and humility.
“Six Persimmons” is a painting worth viewing time and again. It is simple, beautiful, alluring. One can imagine the ceremony in which a tea was enjoyed in its presence. There are six persimmons in a row. Each different. Each similar. Shaped with intention.
The composition is rather enigmatic. It can be read from right to left or left to right or not read at all. As a matter of fact, the eye is drawn toward the center, which feels displaced, out of sorts, especially if one tries to focus their attention there and hold the gaze. It’s almost as if your eye is pushed to the left or the right.
No matter how the painting is viewed, there’s a stirring progression of openness, confidence, and determination - a latent willingness to figure things out.
The brushstrokes offer a sense of calm and tranquility, light and weight, swift movements and experienced gestures. It’s one of those paintings where the more it is viewed the more it reveals - itself, and its relationship with the viewer.
The articulation of an idea, of a life, of the ability to create and cultivate empathy and joy, readily displayed in a simple composition.
