Water-moon Avalokiteshvara
Avalokiteshvara seated on a rock with the youth Sudhana gazing up from below: a 14th-century Water-moon painting, a signature subject of Goryeo Buddhist art. Full commentary ↓
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Water-moon Avalokiteshvara is a painting by an unknown maker (first half of the 14th century) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 114.5 × 55.6 cm.
In the pictureOn a dark silk ground, Avalokiteshvara sits at ease on a rock with one knee raised. The bodhisattva wears an ornate jeweled crown and is draped in a thin, transparent cloth, and the red skirt and gold ornaments glow softly out of the darkness. At lower left a small figure stands facing the bodhisattva.
BackgroundWater-moon Avalokiteshvara paintings show the scene from the Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra in which the youth Sudhana (Seonjae), setting out on his quest for enlightenment, meets Avalokiteshvara on Mount Potalaka by the southern sea. It was an especially beloved subject in the Goryeo dynasty (Korean kingdom), and the large round halo behind the bodhisattva, the water vessel holding a willow branch placed nearby, and the water and rocks below recur almost like fixed elements. This painting dates from the first half of the 14th century; the ground has darkened with age, but the white lines of the thin cloth and the gold decoration are still alive.
Puzzle tipBecause the background is nearly black, it is hard to solve by color. Fit the bodhisattva's red skirt, the light areas of the face and hands, and the decoration of the crown first, and among the dark pieces look first for the ones crossed by the round outline of the halo. It is better to start with 24 or 48 pieces and raise the piece count once you are familiar with the picture.
- Period
- Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
- Culture
- Korea
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- 114.5 × 55.6 cm
- Credit line
- Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
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- What "Unknown Artist" Means, How It Is Written in English, and Why 149 Met Works Have No Name
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