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This painting is an example of the kind of Tibetan Buddhist art produced in the Manchu Qing imperial court under the Qianlong emperor (reigned 1736–1795). It combines Indian figural models with Chinese landscapes heavy with azurite and malichite. The Chinese blue-green landscape forms have become stylized by Tibetan conventions and populated by buddhas and other sacred figures that are portrayed in a Tibetan manner, such as the red Buddha of Infinite Life (Amitayus) floating at the top of the composition. Especially distinctive is the Chinese auspicious imagery, such as the long-tailed clouds shaped like the ruyi scepter, a rebus for “as you wish” subtly worked into the composition. A pair of male and female suplicants with unusually modeled faces kneel below.
Arhat Rahula
OriginChina
Date1736–1795
Dimensions54 × 33 1/2 in. (estimated)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2004.9.1
Himalayan Art Resources Number65363
DescriptionRahula was the Buddha’s son and became one of his sixteen original deciples, or arhats. This arhat’s chief identifying atribute is a crown, which he holds with both hands at his chest.This painting is an example of the kind of Tibetan Buddhist art produced in the Manchu Qing imperial court under the Qianlong emperor (reigned 1736–1795). It combines Indian figural models with Chinese landscapes heavy with azurite and malichite. The Chinese blue-green landscape forms have become stylized by Tibetan conventions and populated by buddhas and other sacred figures that are portrayed in a Tibetan manner, such as the red Buddha of Infinite Life (Amitayus) floating at the top of the composition. Especially distinctive is the Chinese auspicious imagery, such as the long-tailed clouds shaped like the ruyi scepter, a rebus for “as you wish” subtly worked into the composition. A pair of male and female suplicants with unusually modeled faces kneel below.
Not on view
18th - 19th century
late 19th or 20th century
17th - 18th century
16th century
Date unknown
17th century
17th - 18th century
18th century
17th century
late 19th century