明 佚名 羅漢圖 軸|The Arhat Vajraputra

Unidentified artist

15th century · Distemper on cotton · Asian Art

Tibetan Buddhism, imported in China by Mongol rulers in the thirteenth century, enjoyed further patronage from fifteenth-century emperors of the early Ming period. This work vividly demonstrates how hieratic Tibetan imagery was transformed under Chinese influence into a more naturalistic style, witnessed most strongly in the Sinicized treatment of landscapes. This painting, originally part of a set depicting the sixteen arhats (Buddhist saints), portrays Vajraputra, his hand raised in the teaching gesture (vitarkamudra), expounding dharma to a devotee. Tibetan inscriptions appear on the lower left margin and on the reverse.

Artist

Unidentified artist

Date

15th century

Medium

Distemper on cotton

Culture

Tibet

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1992