Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a distemper painting. It dates from 1400 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in Nepal around 1400, the painting utilizes these figures to convey specific spiritual narratives typical of the genre.
The work depicts a religious scene centered on a Bodhisattva and the Buddha, accompanied by a chariot and a goose. Created in Nepal around 1400, the painting utilizes these figures to convey specific spiritual narratives typical of the genre. The inclusion of the Bodhisattva and Buddha establishes the core devotional focus, while the chariot and goose likely serve as symbolic elements within the broader iconographic tradition of the region.
As a religious painting executed in distemper on cloth, the composition functions as a visual representation of Buddhist themes, integrating divine figures with attendant motifs to express doctrinal concepts or mythological episodes relevant to the period and location of its creation.
Technique & Style
The work is a tempera painting on cloth, executed in distemper, a medium formed by binding pigments with a water-soluble glue or gum. Stylistically, the composition displays hierarchical scale and linear definition typical of fourteenth–fifteenth-century Nepalese Buddhist art, with the central Bodhisattva and Buddha rendered in flat, outlined forms and minimal modeling. The palette relies on earth tones and mineral pigments, and the depiction of the goose and chariot is rendered through stylized, iconic motifs rather than naturalistic detail. The work measures approximately 40.6 × 36.2 cm.
History & Provenance
The work was produced around 1400 in Nepal by an anonymous painter who worked in distemper on cloth, a medium typical of early religious paintings. Its subject matter includes a goose, a Bodhisattva, a chariot, and the Buddha, aligning with Buddhist iconography. The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it remains. No records indicate a specific commission or subsequent ownership changes prior to its acquisition by the museum.
Overview
This untitled painting, executed in distemper on a long cloth scroll, presents a vibrant religious scene. It features a central golden Buddha enthroned, surrounded by an assembly of smaller divine beings. The composition also includes dynamic elements such as flying geese and a chariot drawn by horses, all rendered with bright, unmodulated colors. Its survival offers a rare glimpse into devotional art from its period.
Artist & collection
