Mara’s Temptation of the Buddha

1987

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This painting is a reworking on a larger scale of a subject Srimati first painted about 1952, the Buddha’s quelling of desire. The radiance of the Buddha figure, set against the turbulence and disharmony of the world of shadows, is given full expression here. The demon Mara’s beautiful daughters and associated grotesques of the underworld emerge from the darkness in their futile attempts to disturb the Buddha’s spiritual equilibrium.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

References

Title: Mara’s Temptation of the Buddha
Artist: Y. G. Srimati (Indian, 1926–2007)
Date: 1987
Culture: India (New York)
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: Image: 21 1/4 × 28 1/2 in. (54 × 72.4 cm)
Mat: 30 × 40 in. (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Lent by Michael Pellettieri
Curatorial Department: Asian Art