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Todaiji Temple

TitleTodaiji Temple
Artist須田剋太 SUDA Kokuta
Date1981
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions90.9×65.2
ClassificationPaintings
コレクション名木村定三コレクション / Kimura Teizo Collection
Accession NumberJO200100008000
SummaryIn 1942 Suda received a special selection prize in the 5th Shin-Bunten exhibition for his Heavenly General depicting motifs from the Twelve Heavenly Generals sculptures at Shin-Yakushi-ji temple. Suda knew Kamitsukasa Kaiun, the head priest of the Kannon-in of Todai-ji, and thanks to Kaiun's interventions, was allowed to live at Kannon-in and use an old storehouse as his studio. Suda then took the Todai-ji complex as his subject matter in a number of works. The Great Buddha Hall is massive in scale, even by Todai-ji standards, and here its bulk covers the entire painting surface, extending beyond the right and left sides of the canvas, conveying the majestic sense of the temple. The fast, rough brushstrokes and the bold strokes seen in the clouds are all characteristic of Suda's hand, and the subdued palette of the painting recalls the works of his lifelong friend Sugimoto Kenkichi.

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