Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 31
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 31 is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, a ming_painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a crowded scene of judges in tall hats sitting at desks, while naked souls kneel before them in a fiery underworld. This painting is one leaf from an album used to teach young artists how to paint religious scenes. The judges are the Ten Kings of Hell, who decide punishments for the dead in Chinese Buddhist tradition. Each king has a different job—one checks records, another sends souls to torture. Look up more works from china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279) to see how these ideas spread.
