Chinsō

Chinsō, in Japanese art, type of Buddhist portraiture developed especially by the Zen sect about 1200. Chinsō were official pictures of high ecclesiastics, usually posed seated in a chair and dressed in their official robes. These intimate portraits show great technical mastery and meticulous execution. Simple, sober colours give a highly refined harmony. In Zen doctrine the portrait of a master was the most important type of painting. Zen monks sought illumination within their own...