Cleveland Museum of Art

Green Tara

Aniko

Date: c. 1260s; mounted, 2020
Medium: thangka; gum tempera, ink, and gold on sized cotton; mount: silk
Culture: Central Tibet
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

For Tibetans, Green Tara is one of the preeminent figures of their Buddhist faith, a radiant savioress who embodies the female form of the perfect, enlightened mind. The Green Tara in the Cleveland thangka— a Tibetan devotional painting on cloth—specifically dispels fear and provides protection, just like her mantra inscribed on the back side of the painting. Her green color and fear-not gesture link her to the cosmic Buddha of the North, enshrined above her head. Most scholars agree that this work was painted by the celebrated Nepalese artist known as Aniko. The tiny monastic figure under Green Tara's right hand commissioned the painting.

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