Location

not on view

Description

From the 1100s, Japanese Buddhists believed that they were living in a predicted period of apocalyptic cleansing that paved the way for a cycle of renewal to begin. These unlucky times-marked by wars, plagues, and natural disasters-called for straightforward routes to salvation. Prayers invoking the name of the Amida Buddha were popular means to ensure rescue, and images such as Niga Byakudo perfectly portray the perilous escape from the demons of disease and temptation. Here, the tiny figure of a monk-rendered multiple times to indicate movement-flees across the bridge into the Western Paradise, patterns of threatening waves and flames licking at his feet. The painting melds a system of belief with an easily grasped overlay of action; Lee admired the skill in this successful merger.

Provenance

?-1955

(Howard Hollis and Co., Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1955-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1955-present

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 910 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 276 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 276 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 374 archive.org

Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華 : 特别展 : クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから = Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: p. 90, cat. no. 57

Admired from afar: masterworks of Japanese painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art [クリーブランド美術館展 : 名画でたどる日本の美 Kurīburando Bijutsukan ten: meiga de tadoru Nihon no bi ]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2014. Reproduced: cat. no. 5, pp. 32-34

Sano, Emily J., Randall Laird Nadeau, and Alison J. Miller. Heaven and Hell: Salvation and Retribution in Pure Land Buddhism. San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Museum of Art, 2017. Reproduced: p. 112, pl. 59

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12, 2003-July 16, 2003).

Japanese Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 30-October 15, 1961).

Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983).

Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

The Cooperative Program of the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties (organizer).

Honoring Sherman Lee. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 28-August 30, 2009).

Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).

Heaven and Hell: Salvation and Retribution in Pure Land Buddhism. San Antonio Museum of Art (organizer) (June 16-September 10, 2017).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The White Path to the Western Paradise across Two Rivers (Niga Byakudō)

二河白道図

Japan, Kamakura period

Location

Description