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Historical Buddha Shakyamuni with the bodhisattvas Fugen (Samantabhadra) and Monju (Manjushri)
15th century
- Medium
- Color and gold on silk
- Classification
- Paintings
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 114.8 × 59.2 cm (45 3/16 × 23 5/16 in)
- Culture
- Buddhists
- Museum
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Rights
- CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Smithsonian Institution
About this work
Buddhist deities are often painted and displayed at altars in groups of three or more-typically a Buddha at the center and his attendant bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) to the left and right. Here the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni sits on a lotus-shaped throne with his attendants: Fugen to his right, holding a lotus and seated on an elephant, and Monju, seated on a lion, to his left. Surrounding the Buddha and the heads of the bodhisattvas are circular halos representing light and wisdom emanating from the sacred figures. Ornate patterns embellished with gold are typical of traditional Buddhist paintings, which honor deities through resplendent decoration.
