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Meditating Avalokiteśvara

   March 4, 2021  Leave a Comment on Meditating Avalokiteśvara
This thangka was painted by one of the few female thangka painters in Rebong, Qinghai Province, China. Lutso, born in 1993 began painting at a young age, and due to that love of painting, became one of the few female artists enrolled in her local art school. Thangkas are Buddhist paintings that usually depict a Buddhist deity or mandala. These paintings can take months to make as they are extremely detailed. Thangkas serve great importance to Buddhists, as they explain the life of the Buddha and the rules to live by. While larger thangkas are used for religious practices, there are small ones that serve as charms, similar to Christians who wear the cross on a necklace. In this specific thangka, the deity Avalokiteśvara represents the compassion of the Buddha, and while this deity is the center focal point, there is immense detail throughout the painting, showing animals (cranes, yellow birds, and deer) and a landscape.

Name of Piece: Meditating Avalokiteśvara

Artist: Lutso

Date Created: 2018

Medium and Materials: Natural mineral pigments (coral stone) and gold leaf on canvas

Dimensions: 30 3/10 × 22 in (77 × 56 cm)

Permanent Collection of the Asian Ethnology and Anthropology Collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, AMNH Catalog # 70.3/8090

References:

  1. https://mailchi.mp/107dd0419fb6/w-ming-artist-lutso
  2. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/lutso-lun-cuo-b-1993-meditating-avalokitesvara-ming-xiang-guan-yin
Author: Charlotte Becker

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