Item: Shakyamuni Buddha
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1900 - 1959 |
| Lineages | Uncertain |
| Size | 77.47x51.44cm (30.50x20.25in) |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment, Fine Gold Line on Cotton |
| Collection | Rubin Museum of Art |
| Catalogue # | acc.# P1994.13.3 |
Classification: Person
Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya tu pa, sang gye. English: the Enlightened One of the Shakya Clan). This painting is based on a wood carved block print carved at the Dege Parkang in the early half of the 20th century. The original painting and design is attributed to the Drugpa Kagyu teacher and artist Khamtrul Rinpoche of Tashi Jong in Kham Tibet. It is not clear which of the Khamtrul Rinpoche incarnations is being referred to and when the composition was later carved at the Dege Printing House and added to the Shakyamuni Buddha life story set of depictions.
Seated on the side of the Vulture Peak Mountain, discoursing on the Lotus Sutra, he holds upraised in the right hand a single lotus blossom signifying the ineffable nature of the wisdom of emptiness. Various buddhas, arhats and monks are gathered above and at the sides. At the top center is the personification of wisdom, the deity Prajnaparamita, yellow, with four hands.
In the foreground, seated centrally, and unrelated to the narrative above is the goddess of long-life, White Tara.
Jeff Watt 9-2000
Publication: Worlds of Transformation
Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 6
Painting Style: Men-ri (New)
Painting Style: Examples
Shakyamuni Buddha: Life Story Main Page
Painting Main Page: Painting & Composition (Flat Art)
Shakyamuni Buddha: Life Story (Lotus Sutra)
Subject: Flowers