Leaf from a Gandavyuha Manuscript by Anonymous

Leaf from a Gandavyuha Manuscript late 11th-early 12th century

natural stone pattern

painted

sculptural image

possibly oil pastel

chalky texture

underpainting

pastel chalk drawing

paint stroke

watercolour bleed

watercolor

This leaf from a Gandavyuha Manuscript is an example of Indian manuscript painting from the late 11th-early 12th century. The painting is part of a larger manuscript, illustrating the Buddhist text, the Gandavyuha. The manuscript is written in Sanskrit and tells the story of Sudhana, a bodhisattva, who sets out on a journey to find enlightenment. The painting features a scene of the narrative. The style of the painting is typical of Buddhist art of the period, with a focus on line and detail. The painting is now housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This palm leaf manuscript page was once part of a larger manuscript called the Gandavyuha, which told the tale of Sudhana, a young pilgrim who seeks out multiple teachers in an effort to attain enlightenment. Sudhana is depicted by a tree against a stippled blue background on his way to visit a guru. The painting style reveals connections with northeast India, likely indexing the migration of Indian monks to monasteries in the Himalayas, which occurred on a large scale between the 11th and 13th centuries. The manuscript consisted of a stack of multiple leaves bound together through the two holes at the center, and would have been easy to transport. This leaf is one of the oldest extant examples of South Asian manuscript painting.