The bodhisattva Kshitigarbha is a compassionate deity who has taken a vow to save all sentient beings in the era between the death of the Buddha Shakyamuni and the coming of the Buddha of the Future, Maitreya. Unlike the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who saves people from the sins and hardships of this life, Kshitigarbha rescues souls suffering in hell. Veneration of Kshitigarbha became popular early in Korean Buddhism as families worried that their deceased relatives might be reborn in hell. Mostly depicted as a monk with a shaved head, Kshitigarbha usually holds a monk’s staff in one hand and a jewel that shines in the dark in the other hand.

In this painting, the bodhisattva, depicted as a monk, holds a staff in his right hand and a jewel on his left palm, which is the reverse of the customary scheme. The choice of three principal pigments, however, conforms to Goryeo 고려 高麗 standards. Green colors the garment that is hung over the right arm, blue was used for the outer robe, and red was used for the skirt. Gold defines the decorative patterns, contours, and drapery folds. The skin was rendered with white pigment applied from the back of the silk support, and red was lightly painted on the front surface of the painting. A variety of decorative patterns adorns the bodhisattva’s clothing: The green garment hung over the arm is marked by scrolls and phoenix-and-cloud motifs, the outer robe has scroll roundels and repeats of waves and clouds, and the skirt has tear-drop lotus medallions.

This painting of the bodhisattva Kshitigarbha faithfully follows the stylistic and technical standards of the Goryeo 고려 高麗 period and can be compared to two other works. Although the bodhisattva’s attributes are reversed and the deity is not wearing a head scarf, the color choices and decorative patterns seen in the Metropolitan work exhibit a striking resemblance to an image in the Nezu Museum 根津美術館 collection in Japan.[1] The only other painting with the attributes reversed is in a private collection, also in Japan. The harmonious use of color in the Metropolitan painting, as well as its balance of liveliness and stability, suggest a mid-fourteenth century date.

—Chung Woothak, Professor Emeritus, Dongguk University, Seoul

Note:
[1] For an image of the Nezu Museum 根津美術館 painting, see Kikutake Junichi 菊竹淳一 and Chung Woothak 鄭于澤, eds., Kōrai jidai no butsuga 高麗時代の仏画 [The Buddhist paintings of Koryo Dynasty] (Seoul: Sigongsa, 2000), 218, pl. 102.