Buddhist Art Analysis Essay

Iconography and symbolism: Buddhist art
‘Green Tara 14th century’ and ‘Tara 19th century’- Rubin Museum of Art
Gaurika Dalal

The two pieces of art that I have chosen to compare is the ‘Green Tara 14th century’ and ‘Tara 19th century’ which are both from the collection at the Rubin Museum of Art. The Green Tara sculpture is from central Tibet and is made of Gilt copper alloy. The Tara 19th century is from Kham province in Tibet and is painted with pigments on a piece of cloth.
The main subject of focus in both the pieces of art is the ‘Tara’. Tara is a female bodhisattva or a female version of buddha. She is one of the most popular female deities in Tibetan culture and is associated with protection of a group of calamities known as the Eight fears.
The ‘Green Tara 14th century’ is a metal sculpture which is about 10 inches tall and 6 inches wide. It is very precisely detailed with the clothes, head piece, earings, necklaces and other types of jewellery all intricately carved. The

sculpture is greenish-bronze in colour and is rusted in a few areas but it is smooth and shiny overall. The bodhisattva is sitting with one leg crossed on a stool that represents a lotus. She has one hand on her knee and the other near her chest. She is meditating blissfully and has a content and peaceful smile on her face. She has a very elegant sway in her posture making her look extremely attractive and beautiful.
The ‘Tara 19th century’ on the other hand is a painting on cloth which is about 25 inches tall and 17 inches wide making it a lot larger than the sculpture.

The subject of this piece is also the Tara but in this one she is represented in eight different circumstances. The centre of the piece however is a larger representation of her while the others are a lot smaller and scattered. The various representations of the Tara show her in various circumstances which portray the Eight Fears. She is siting on a lotus and is wearing a similar type of head piece and jewellery as on the sculpture. The painting is colourful but is predominately deep green and blue with a little bit of red and orange on the figures. The expression on the bodhisattvas face is peaceful just like the sculpture but the painting overall is fairly crowded and filled with movement. It allows the eye to wander around in all directions. It has a mystical effect due to the clouds and rainbows on the upper half of the

painting.
In this way, both the pieces depict the Tara but in completely different mediums and styles. Even though the two art works are different yet it is easy to make out that both of them represent the subject. The message in both the sculpture and the painting is clear and vivid. Both the artists have done a good job in representing the bodhisattva.