Artwork
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 30
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 30 is an unspecified painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1204 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a crowded scene of judges in tall hats sitting at desks, while naked souls kneel before them in a fiery underworld.
You see a crowded scene of judges in tall hats sitting at desks, while naked souls kneel before them in a fiery underworld.
This painting is one leaf from an album used to train artists in a 1200s Chinese workshop. The judges are the Ten Kings of Hell, deciding punishments for the dead. The detail is so fine you can count the folds in the judges’ robes and the terrified faces of the souls.
To see more of these hell scenes, look up china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279).
Overview
This painting is one leaf from a 13th-century Chinese album containing 50 religious-themed paintings, likely created as models for studio apprentices.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts the Ten Kings of Hell, Buddhist deities who administer punishments to the dead, surrounded by naked souls in a fiery underworld.
Technique & Style
The painting showcases fine detail, with intricate folds in the judges' robes and expressive faces of the souls, demonstrating the artist's skill.
Context
The album is divided into sections, with the first 26 leaves featuring Daoist deities, followed by 14 leaves depicting the Ten Kings of Hell, and a final section showing divine soldiers battling undesirable creatures.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 31
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 6
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 34
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 33
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 28
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 37
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 40
Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 32