A compassionate bodhisattva who rescues sentient beings from descending into hell or purgatory, Kshitigarbha (Korean: Jijang) became enormously popular during the Goryeo period. A key figure in Pure Land Buddhism, Kshitigarbha was often depicted singly and in the guise of a monk—with a shaved head, wearing a monk’s robe, and holding his standard attributes, a staff and a wish-fulfilling jewel (cintamani). This exquisite scroll is a well-preserved example of Goryeo Buddhist painting. Some of its hallmarks are the deity’s graceful facial features and slender fingers, the red and green colors of the robe, and the sumptuously elegant gold decoration.
Very few Korean paintings made prior to the fourteenth century survive. Buddhist paintings of the Goryeo dynasty are renowned for their delicacy and refinement. Most, if not all, were commissioned by members of the royal family and the aristocracy and were painted by monk-painters or professional court painters.
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Artwork Details
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지장보살도 고려 地藏菩薩圖 高麗
Title:Kshitigarbha
Artist:Unidentified artist
Period:Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Date:first half of the 14th century
Culture:Korea
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimensions:Image: 33 1/4 × 14 1/2 in. (84.5 × 36.8 cm) Overall with mounting: 79 × 25 3/8 in. (200.7 × 64.5 cm) Overall with knobs: 79 × 27 1/4 in. (200.7 × 69.2 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number:29.160.32
Horace Havemeyer , New York (until 1929; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Bodhisattva Jizo, Guardian of Wandering Souls," February 21–May 20, 1990.
New York. Asia Society. "The Story of a Painting: The Korean Buddhist Treasure from the Burke Foundation," April 23, 1991–July 28, 1991.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Arts of Korea," June 7, 1998–January 24, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," January 14, 2005–October 29, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Buddhist Paintings from the Koryō Dynasty (918–1392)," May 8–October 22, 2007.
Seoul. National Museum of Korea. "Masterpieces of Goryeo Dynasty," October 11, 2010–November 21, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Korea: Buddhism and Buddhist Art," December 9, 2011–June 3, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Korea: 100 Years of Collecting at the Met," February 7, 2015–March 27, 2016.
National Museum of Korea. "Goryeo: The Glory of Korea," December 4, 2018–March 3, 2019.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Making The Met, 1870–2020," August 29, 2020–January 3, 2021.
National Museum of Korea. Koryŏ pulhwa taejŏn: 700 nyŏn man ŭi haehu 고려불화대전 : 700 년만의 해후 (Masterpieces of Goryeo Buddhist painting: a long lost look after 700 years). Exh. cat. Seoul: Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan, 2010, pp. 148–150, 303, cat. no. 59.
Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan. Tae Koryŏ 918-2018: Kŭ Ch'allanhan Tojŏn: T'ŭkpyŏljŏn 대고려 918-2018 : 그 찬란한 도전 : 특별전 (Goryeo: the glory of Korea: special exhibition). Exh. cat. Seoul: Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan, 2018, pp. 216–17, 348, cat. no. 206.
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