Painting of Mahamayuri

Ever wondered how ancient religious art captured the divine?

Painting of Mahamayuri provides a stunning example. This Song Dynasty masterpiece, preserved in Japanese temples, depicts a serene deity meditating atop a lotus throne, carried by a colorful peacock amidst a golden cloud sea. With six arms holding symbolic objects, the deity’s benevolent gaze reflects the elegance and refinement of Buddhist art from this era. This painting not only showcases Song realism but also carries stylistic echoes from earlier masters like Gao Wenjin, linking past and present in the art of devotion.

Song Dynasties (960-1279). Silk hanging scroll, colored. Tokyo, Japan.

This piece is compiled from the Chinese edition of Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting by Foreign Languages Press and Yale University Press, translated by Chen Ying.