The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Standing Ksitigarbha

1300–1350

Korea, Goryeo dynasty

(918–1392)
Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
Painting: 103 x 43 cm (40 9/16 x 16 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2025.141
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Only 10 of the 14th-century paintings of Ksitigarbha are known to exist in the world today. This is one of these rare surviving masterpieces.

Description

This fourteenth-century hanging scroll depicts Kṣitigarbha (지장보살), the Bodhisattva of Salvation in the guise of a youthful Buddhist monk. Clad in simple monastic robes, he holds a staff to announce his presence and a wish-fulfilling jewel symbolizing his vow to relieve suffering. Kṣitigarbha is believed to descend into the underworld to guide and liberate tormented souls trapped in purgatory. His compassionate mission made him a key figure in both East Asian visual and ritual tradition.
  • c. 1930s–1980
    Morimura Family, Japan
    1980–2025
    Jin Chang-sik 陳昌植 [Japanese name: Nakamura Takeo 中村武雄] [1923–2020], Japan
    2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Chung, Woothak. “新出の高麗時代 地蔵菩薩図 [Newly Discovered Koryo Dynasty Ksitigarbha Painting].” Yamato bunka 大和文華 99 (1998): 1–15.
    Shin, Gwang-hee. “고려불화의유사성과의미 [Iconographic Similarities and Differences in Goryeo-Period Ksitigarbha Paintings],” Buddhist Studies (2018), 191⎯217.
  • {{cite web|title=Standing Ksitigarbha|url=false|author=|year=1300–1350|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.141