Monk (Sui Dynasty (589–618 A.D.)): Artwork and History

Monk (Sui Dynasty (589–618 A.D.)) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as China.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Expressing serene dignity, these youthful monks stand erect, their eyes downcast and hands firmly joined in reverent prayer. Their long earlobes allude to earrings that were worn by the Buddha as a young Indian prince and to his rejection of material wealth. Characteristic of Sui dynasty sculpture, the monks’ sharply defined facial features and the folds of their robes enhance the figures’ flat, understated modeling. Each of their robes was originally painted with rectangles of different colors, signifying the patchwork mantle worn by the Buddha and by pious monks who emulated his humble values. Only shadowy traces of these pigments are now evident.

Object facts

• Title: Monk
• Date: Sui Dynasty (589–618 A.D.)
• Artist attribution: China
• Place of origin: China
• Medium: Limestone with traces of polychromy
• Dimensions: 87.7 × 25.4 × 19.7 cm (34 1/2 × 10 × 7 3/4 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of Asia
• Reference number: 1932.223

Collection credit

Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.