수월관음도 고려|水月觀音圖 高麗|Water-moon Avalokiteshvara
first half of the 14th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 45 1/16 × 21 7/8 in. (114.5 × 55.6 cm) Overall with mounting: 79 3/8 × 28 in. (201.6 × 71.1 cm) Overall with knobs: 79 3/8 × 30 1/8 in. (201.6 × 76.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Korea · Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Accession Number
14.76.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite hanging scroll, *Water-Moon Avalokitesh*, hails from the Goryeo dynasty (918–139), a golden age of Korean Buddhism when such devotional images flourished. Created by an unidentified artist in the half of the 14 century, it portrays Avalokiteshvara, the compassionate Bodhisattva who embodies mercy and hears the world's cries for help. The "water-moon" motif—typically showing the figure poised gracefully on a rocky outcrop amid misty waters—evokes serenity and the illusory nature of existence, inviting contemplation. Painted in ink and color on silk, a luxurious medium reserved f...