landscape | Kenko Shōkei (Kei Shoki) 賢江祥啓 (啓書記) | 1478-1506

Kenko Shōkei is one of the great ink painters of the Muromachi period (1336-1573). He is also known as "The Secretary Kei" because he was secretary of the Kenchōji Temple in Kamakura. Kenko Shōkei is clearly influenced by Chinese painting of the Sung period (960-1279), which was also influential for his contemporary Sesshū.

The painting had suffered greatly over the last five hundred years and had been restored once before. Not all of the damage could be repaired during the new restoration, but the painting has regained its charisma. It is small, but the wealth of detail is enchanting. Whether it is a pavilion in which the obligatory scholar is looking at the full moon, whether you see the hiker on the left who also repeatedly walks the path in Sesshū paintings, whether it is the flocks of wild geese that lead into the vast depths, or whether it is the depiction of unreal, pointed mountain worlds clearly influenced by Sung painting, you will be transported to this old  drawn into the picture narrative.   

The picture is well documented. The antique damaged box still had a legible inscription on the lid, and so this lid was added to the new box. A so-called kiwame from around 1850 (certificate of authenticity) confirms the authenticity of the picture. The stamp is very difficult to read, but can be convincingly compared with one of the few authentic stamps by Kenko Shōkei.