Tathagata Buddha

late 1800s

Tathagata Buddha, late 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; overall: 214 x 69.4 cm (84 1/4 x 27 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Worcester R. Warner Collection 1918.542 Buddhist paintings of the late Joseon period (from the 17th to the 19th century) have several characteristics different from their precedents. Generally, they were painted in bright mineral pigments on either thick paper or hemp. This large painting, which measures more than 2 meters tall, used to serve as a banner for outdoor Buddhist ceremonies such as the water-and-land rite (水陸會). The term Tathāgata can be understood as both "one who has thus gone" and "one who has thus come."