Mahasiddha Jnanatapa

A seated yogi-saint with a halo and jeweled ornaments sits on a lotus throne above a row of animals, holding a ritual object before his chest. Surrounding him in arched niches are seated Buddhas, deities and attendant figures in red, green and blue on a dark border. The distemper on cloth shows the flat, densely ordered composition typical of Tibetan devotional painting.

Look closer: Small animals, including a lion-like creature, sit in the lower register beneath the central throne.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1350

Medium

Distemper on cloth

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3211 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1987