Objects, images, descriptions and audio guide.
Wearing a dark green court uniform, a man is seated in a chair covered with a leopard skin, a gift from the royal court to a newly appointed officer. The embroidered ran…
Across the world, animals once played a much larger role in the transportation of the elite. Members of Japan’s imperial court traveled in vehicles pulled by oxen until …
Monk Juran served the Southern Tang (937–75) imperial house in Nanjing, where he studied with Dong Yuan (active 930s–60s). Both founded the southern landscape tradition,…
Bamboo and orchids are motifs associated with the virtues of the scholar-official. Bamboo that bends but does not break stands for moral integrity, endurance, and loyalt…
El Greco (Spanish for "the Greek") was trained on his native island, Crete, as a painter of small-scale devotional images (icons). In the late 1560s he moved first to Ve…
As a child, Krishna grew up in a community of cow herders. He is distinguished as supernatural by his blue-colored skin and his ability to mystically draw the cows to th…
The heroine sits in front of a red cushion confiding in her friend that she feels passionate desire for her husband, but she firmly refuses his advances. Nevertheless, h…
This small altarpiece, intended for a domestic interior or private chapel, consists of three panels, allowing it to be folded and easily transported. Surrounding the Vir…
Léon Cogniet was one of many artists who traveled from across Europe to Rome during the early 19th century, drawing upon the city’s ancient past and its surrounding land…
A tiger sits in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds above rough waves. Tiger and dragon are Chinese cosmological symbols of the …
Prized horses in stables may be the main theme of the pair of screens of which this screen is a part, but a lot of action is happening on the veranda. Falconry is the fo…
Equestrian pursuits and hunting were particularly popular among the Khitan (also spelled “Qidan”) and Jurchen, ethnic groups who lived along China’s northeastern border.…
Although the location that inspired the painting has been subject to scholarly debate, many believe it derives from Church’s travels through the Ecuadorean Andes nearly …
The heroine in the doorway waits for her husband to return, but he is delayed, and ominous monsoon clouds gather in the distance. The pomegranate tree in her garden has …
Ren Renfa's horse images are elegant in appearance and vigorous in spirit. His work attracted not only Chinese scholars but also the Mongols at the imperial court. Inspi…
Cleveland-born and New York City-based Otto Bacher painted July during a visit to East Hampton, Long Island, NY. The sun-dazzled composition features a nude model seated…
According to Christian belief, three days after his death by crucifixion, Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. König’s interpretation of this traditional …
Jean de Beaumetz became the official court painter to the Burgundian duke, Philip the Bold, in 1376. Between 1389 and 1395 he created devotional paintings for the monks’…
This screen and its corresponding screen show Portuguese merchants arriving in Japan, having crossed the oceans in their large ship with a multinational crew. The Portug…
During the 1630s, the Genoese artist Bernardo Strozzi painted a number of female figures representing various intellectual and artistic pursuits, reflecting the appeal o…
The dragon and tiger are tied to the philosophical concept of yin and yang, which describes opposite but complementary forces. The dragon occupies a tiered background of…
Frank Duveneck loved Venice and spent several months there during the early decades of his career. Titled The Venetian Girl , this painting depicts a young woman—likely …
Shakyamuni emerged from the mountains after years of ascetic practices, which anticipated his sermon in Deer Park and attainment of enlightenment under the bodhi tree. H…
Chan Buddhism was introduced to China in the early 500s by the Indian monk Bodhidharma, or Puti Damo (died before 534). Upon his arrival in China, Bodhidharma was allege…