Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva with Assembly
late 16th/early 17th century
- Medium
- Ink and color on hemp cloth
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 155.6 × 230.5 cm (61 5/16 × 90 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Korea
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Samuel M. Nickerson Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This painting of Kshitigarbha (Jijang Bosal in Korean,) flanked by the Ten Kings of Hell and guardian deities, reflects the prevalence of faith in Kshitigarbha in Korean Buddhism. Kshitigarbha is the overlord of the Buddhist underworld who has the ability to save sentient beings from hell. Whereas Buddhism enjoyed the royal patronage during the Goryeo period, it became the religion of the masses in the late Joseon period, resulting in stylistic changes in Buddhist painting. Instead of expensive gold or lapis lazuli, red and green became the main palette; more affordable materials such as paper, cotton, or hemp were chosen over silk; and depicted robes show simpler treatment with little to no decoration.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
