Artwork

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 4

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 4 is an unspecified painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1204 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This painting is one leaf from an album depicting Daoist and Buddhist themes.

Accession no.: 2004.1.4
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou and Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)

About this work

The artist drew him like a government official, with attendants and paperwork, showing how the divine world mirrored the real one.

You see a line of figures walking on clouds, one deity on horseback, guards with swords, flags, and a parasol.

This is a page from a Daoist album, made when religion was part of daily life in China. The deity here is the Official of Earth, a sort of heavenly bureaucrat who decides human fate. The artist drew him like a government official, with attendants and paperwork, showing how the divine world mirrored the real one.

Look up more about the subject: china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279).

Overview

This painting is one leaf from an album depicting Daoist and Buddhist themes. It shows a procession of figures on clouds, led by a deity on horseback.

Subject & Meaning

The deity is likely the Official of Earth, one of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water in Daoist cosmology. As an intermediary between humans and the netherworld, this figure is accompanied by attendants who carry symbols of his authority.

Technique & Style

The figures are depicted in motion, with flags and a parasol fluttering in the wind. The artist has captured a sense of dynamism, conveying the procession's movement across the clouds.

Context

Created during the Southern Song dynasty, this painting reflects the integration of Daoist beliefs into daily life in China at the time. The depiction of the deity as a heavenly bureaucrat mirrors the administrative structures of the earthly world.