Tibet

Milarepa on Mount Kailash

c. 1500 · Painting

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Wo ist „Milarepa on Mount Kailash“ heute? Sammlung: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Derzeit nicht ausgestellt. Geprüft 29. September 2026.

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Vereinigte Staaten

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Geprüft: vor 10 Tagen
Unverändert seit: 19. Aug. 2026
Quelle: Das Museum

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Milarepa (1040–1123) was a beloved Tibetan singer-poet, mystic, teacher, and saint whose name means “cotton-clad,” is usually shown clothed in thin white cotton and cupping a hand to his ear—a gesture typical of singers in India and the Himalayas—to enhance his hearing while blocking out extraneous noise. In this thangka, a painted cloth that can be rolled up for portability, Milarepa sits in a cave on Mount Kailash, which is sacred to both Buddhists and Hindus. In front of him, Lake Manasarovar (Marpam) flows by in wavy blue and green bands. Milarepa is flanked by his disciples, and his teacher, Marpa, appears in a medal-lion above him. The dazzling snow-covered peaks frame each of the central figures, and below them multicolored foothills appear as prismatic spikes refracting the sun’s rays like jewels.

Along the perimeter of the thangka, the five sisters of long life ride their mounts, accompanying Milarepa wherever he preaches his doctrine. The sacred peaks and lakes of the Himalayas have inspired numerous works of art—Milarepa, for example, wrote one hundred thousand songs about them. The other side of this textile contains a long inscription in Tibetan, demonstrating that this is one of the earliest representations of Milarepa.

Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0