Kannon
Unknown Artist
c. 1868–1912
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk; inscription in gold ink on silk
Dimensions
227.9 × 75 cm · painting only: 155 × 51.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
1986.8
About this artwork
The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon in Japanese) stands with each of his feet upon a lotus blossom. The Buddha Amitabha (Amida in Japanese) appears in his headdress. The text written in golden characters attached to the top of the painting is a portion of a religious text extolling the virtues of the bodhisattva. The painter was inspired by Buddhist paintings of the Korean Goreyo period (918–1392); he attempted to reproduce the diaphanous shawl sometimes seen in such early works.