Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 40
1204
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1204
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 40 is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, a ming_painting work, depicting qianlong reign, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a crowded scene of judges in tall hats and flowing robes, each pointing at a naked soul who is being boiled, sawed, or crushed under boulders. This is one page from a training album used in a 1200s Chinese workshop. Fifty leaves were painted so apprentices could copy the faces, poses, and punishments when the studio got real temple jobs. The judges are the Ten Kings of Hell, Buddhist officials who decide how long each sinner suffers. Look up more paintings from china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279) to see how artists showed divine justice.
