White-Robed Guanyinlate 1200s · Study 1972.160

Context from the museum

The figure here sits on a rocky elevation representing Potalaka in the Southern Sea, Avalokitesvara’s island home. A vase with a bamboo sprig holds pure water, the nectar of life. Bamboo shines through the figure’s halo, a way of seeing the illusionary world through the Buddhist truth. Avalokitesvara (Guanyin in Chinese), the bodhisattva of compassion, was integrated into the Chan Buddhist canon of venerated beings. In this context, the bodhisattva is often depicted in its female manifestation as the White-Robed Guanyin. The worship of the feminine White-Robed Guanyin has its origins on Mount Tianzhu in Hangzhou, where Qian Liu (852–932), ruler of the Wuyue kingdom, established the Upper Tianzhu Monastery to venerate her image.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

As an artist, Zhang Yuehu was better known in Japan than in his own country.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting measurement for White-Robed Guanyin is 42.2 cm wide and 104.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 16.6 × 41.1 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.40:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.44 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 14.1% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 128.9 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With White-Robed Guanyin in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 42.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?