Iconographic Drawings: Vaishravana, Yama, Ushnishavijaya, Chunda (?), and Buddha (recto)

1500

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Iconographic Drawings: Vaishravana, Yama, Ushnishavijaya, Chunda (?), and Buddha (recto) is a 1500 by Unknown, a Renaissance work, depicting Tibet, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1500 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see five Buddhist figures drawn in black ink on a worn sheet of paper: a large guardian king, a small donor, and three deities with halos. This is a rare sketchbook page from Tibet. Most of these guides were used until they fell apart, so few survive. The steady lines show how artists learned to draw holy figures—what hand gestures, robes, and symbols to include. To see more Tibetan religious art, look up *subject: tibet*.

The story of this work

Overview

Tibetan thangka painters referred to sketchbooks with drawings that delineate the iconographies—appearance and identifying attributes—of Buddhist figures. These visual guides were heavily used; very few survive. This rare example shows signs of wear, but the steady line drawings are the work of a master. The largest figure on the left is the guardian king of the north, Vaishravana, god of wealth, and the small figure to the right appears to be a donor in Tibetan dress. The next page to the right has Yama, the guardian king of the south, and the god of death in union with his consort on his…