Reading a Sutra by Moonlight

A hooded, bald monk kneels at the right edge of a pale horizontal scroll, bent over an open book in loose, economical ink strokes. To the left runs a vertical column of brush calligraphy beside red seals, and the empty paper around the figure suggests a quiet night interior.

Look closer: Red seals stamped beside the calligraphy column, one near the top and two at the lower left.

Artist

Jifei Ruyi (Sokuhi Nyoitsu)

Date

17th century, after 1661

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3915 × 1851 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975