• Three Aspects of the Absolute, folio 1 from the Nath Charit, 1823 (Samvat 1880). Bulaki. India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Opaque watercolor, gold, and tin alloy on paper; 47 x 123 cm. Mehrangarh Museum Trust RJS2399.
  • Yogini, c. 1000–1050. India, Uttar Pradesh, Kannauj. Sandstone; 86.4 x 43.8 x 24.8 cm. San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with the John and Karen McFarlin Fund and Asian Art Challenge Fund 90.92.
  • Yogini, c. 900–975. India, Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram or Kaveripakkam. Metagabbro; 116 x 76 x 43.2 cm. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.905.
  • Yogini with Mynah, c. 1603–4. India, Karnataka, Bijapur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 39.2 x 27.6 cm (folio with borders), 19.3 x 11.6 cm (painting without borders). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin 11a.31.
  • “Mystery girl: why can’t she be killed?” Look, September 28, 1937. Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Magazine; 34.1 × 26.6 cm. Private Collection.
  • Shiva Bhairava, 1200s. India, Karnataka, Mysore. Chloritic schist; 116.6 x 49.23 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1964.369.
  • Vishnu Vishvarupa, c. 1800–1820. India, Rajasthan, Jaipur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 38.5 x 28 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Given by Mrs. Gerald Clark IS.33-2006.
  • Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples behind Balconies, AD 400s. India, Jammu and Kashmir, Harwan. Terracotta; 40.6 × 33.6 × 4.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Cynthia Hazen Polsky, 1987, 1987.424.26.
  • Garbhasana (Persian, gharbasana), folio from the Bahr al-Hayat (Ocean of Life), 1600–1604. India, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad. Opaque watercolor on paper; 22.7 x 13.9 cm (folio), 10.6 x 7.8 cm (painting). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin In
  • The Chakras of the Subtle Body, folio 4 from the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati, 1824 (Samvat 1881). Bulaki. India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 122 x 46 cm. Mehrangarh Museum Trust RJS 2376.
  • Satcakranirupanacitram, 1903. Swami Hamsvarupa. Trikutvilas Press, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. Book; 26.2 × 34.5 cm. Wellcome Library, London, Asian Collections, P. B. Sanskrit 391.
  • The Prince in Danger from the Mrigavati, 1603–4. Attributed to Haribans. India, Mughal dynasty. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 28.3 x 17.5 cm (folio), 15.2 x 9.5 cm (painting). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin In 37.28a.
  • Group of Yogis, c. 1880s. Colin Murray for Bourne & Shepherd. Albumen print; 22.2 x 29.2 cm. Collection of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck 2011.02.02.0004.
A
Facebook logo Twitter logo MailTo link logo Print HTML logo

Yoga: The Art of Transformation

Sun, 06/22/2014 to Sun, 09/07/2014
The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall

All over the world, millions of people—including sixteen million Americans—practice yoga for health benefits and to find spiritual calm. Practitioners and non-practitioners alike are aware of yoga’s origins in India. But very few know of yoga’s rich visual history, which reveals its profound philosophical underpinnings, its goals of transforming both body and consciousness, the diverse social roles yogic practitioners have played, and its transformations over time and across communities.

The Cleveland Museum of Art presents Yoga: The Art of Transformation, the world’s first exhibition about yoga’s visual history, explores yoga’s meanings and transformations over time, including its entry into the global arena; yoga’s goals of spiritual enlightenment, worldly power and health and well-being; and the beauty and profundity of Indian art.

Works include sculptural masterpieces of historical and divine yogis, exquisite Mughal paintings of militant yogis and romantic heroes, Islamic divination texts, fifteen-foot scrolls depicting the chakras (energy centers of the body), nineteenth-century photography and early films. Noteworthy objects include an installation that reunites for the first time three monumental stone yoginis from a tenth-century Chola temple; ten folios from the first illustrated compilation of asanas (yogic postures) from 1602, never before exhibited in the United States; and Hindoo Fakir by Thomas Edison, the first film on an Indian subject ever produced (1906).

Ticketed Exhibition
Adults: $15; Seniors: $13; Students (with valid ID): $13; CMA members: Free; Member guests: $7

Free admission for children. Children 14 and under require adult supervision while inside the exhibition.

Listen & Learn More: 

Yoga: The Art of Transformation is organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution with support from the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, and the Ebrahimi Family Foundation.

    

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne

Media sponsor: 

The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

This exhibition was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 Cuyahoga    Ohio Arts Council logo
Three Aspects of the Absolute, folio 1 from the Nath Charit, 1823 (Samvat 1880). Bulaki. India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Opaque watercolor, gold, and tin alloy on paper; 47 x 123 cm. Mehrangarh Museum Trust RJS2399.
Yogini, c. 1000–1050. India, Uttar Pradesh, Kannauj. Sandstone; 86.4 x 43.8 x 24.8 cm. San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with the John and Karen McFarlin Fund and Asian Art Challenge Fund 90.92.
Yogini, c. 900–975. India, Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram or Kaveripakkam. Metagabbro; 116 x 76 x 43.2 cm. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.905.
Yogini with Mynah, c. 1603–4. India, Karnataka, Bijapur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 39.2 x 27.6 cm (folio with borders), 19.3 x 11.6 cm (painting without borders). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin 11a.31.
“Mystery girl: why can’t she be killed?” Look, September 28, 1937. Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Magazine; 34.1 × 26.6 cm. Private Collection.
Shiva Bhairava, 1200s. India, Karnataka, Mysore. Chloritic schist; 116.6 x 49.23 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1964.369.
Vishnu Vishvarupa, c. 1800–1820. India, Rajasthan, Jaipur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 38.5 x 28 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Given by Mrs. Gerald Clark IS.33-2006.
Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples behind Balconies, AD 400s. India, Jammu and Kashmir, Harwan. Terracotta; 40.6 × 33.6 × 4.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Cynthia Hazen Polsky, 1987, 1987.424.26.
Garbhasana (Persian, gharbasana), folio from the Bahr al-Hayat (Ocean of Life), 1600–1604. India, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad. Opaque watercolor on paper; 22.7 x 13.9 cm (folio), 10.6 x 7.8 cm (painting). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin In
The Chakras of the Subtle Body, folio 4 from the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati, 1824 (Samvat 1881). Bulaki. India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 122 x 46 cm. Mehrangarh Museum Trust RJS 2376.
Satcakranirupanacitram, 1903. Swami Hamsvarupa. Trikutvilas Press, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. Book; 26.2 × 34.5 cm. Wellcome Library, London, Asian Collections, P. B. Sanskrit 391.
The Prince in Danger from the Mrigavati, 1603–4. Attributed to Haribans. India, Mughal dynasty. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 28.3 x 17.5 cm (folio), 15.2 x 9.5 cm (painting). The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin In 37.28a.
Group of Yogis, c. 1880s. Colin Murray for Bourne & Shepherd. Albumen print; 22.2 x 29.2 cm. Collection of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck 2011.02.02.0004.