The Monkey and the moon

Okay… this is one of my favorite drawings!

The inspiration comes from a Buddhist parable in which a group of monkeys see the moon’s reflection in a well or pond. Mistaking the reflection for the real moon, they reach for it, only to fail.

I was especially moved by a painting I once saw- though I haven’t been able to track it down again. It may have been in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. In it, a courtesan dresses quietly in her room, holding a fan painted with a delicate image of the moon. Behind her, painted on a screen, a monkey stretches out his long arm toward her fan.

I haven’t been able to find that exact piece again, but the image stayed with me. In the meantime… enjoy these other monkeys:

← Monkeys Reaching for The Moon by Ohara Koson

↓Monkey reaching for the Moon Ohara Koson