Vishnu on Ananta, the Endless Serpent
Unknown Artist
c. 1700
Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Dimensions
image: 17.1 × 16.7 cm · page: 17.8 × 17.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2018.155
About this artwork
Before the creation of the world, the god Vishnu was asleep on the serpent Ananta, floating on the cosmic ocean. When the time came for him to create the world, Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi woke him gently by massaging his feet. Then, out of his navel emerged a lotus flower, and Vishnu gave birth to Brahma, the god of creation. As plants that grow in water, lotus flowers indicate the presence of the waters and their life-affirming capacity. In this painting they are boldly distributed over a deep brown...