paintings | Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

Rubin Museum of Art

chants of a monkey mind

India, 2023

Contemporary painting reimagining a wrathful Hindu goddess in flat graphic style, with a turquoise three-eyed face, red skull crown, blue skin, and stylized weapons, rendered in bold outlines against a slate-blue background.

Dus Mahavidyas (Great Goddesses of Wisdom): Tara

Kathmandu, Nepal, 2023

Thangka scroll painting of a wrathful flame-wreathed deity seated on a lotus base against a black background.

Black Cloak Mahakala Bernagchen

USA, 2000

Thangka mandala painting centered on a red female deity within a temple structure, surrounded by concentric protective rings, with seated teachers above and small deity figures in the corners.

Vajrayogini in the Pure Realm of Khechara

Kham region, eastern Tibet, 19th century

Painting of a crowned figure seated on a tiger skin holding an arrow, with a quiver beside him, under a flowering tree against a deep blue background with mountains and floating arrows below.

Mahasiddha Saraha

Tibet, 19th century

Thangka painting of a central crowned Buddhist deity in a circular halo, surrounded by many small rows of repeating, seated deities, with a flame-wreathed wrathful deity below.

Tibet, 18th - 19th century

Thangka painting of a seated monk with a golden halo unwrapping a text, accompanied by two attendant figures, in a green landscape with stylized rocks, trees, and a small deity seated in clouds above.

Arhat Gopaka, From a Set of Sixteen Arhats

China, 19th century

Thangka painting showing four seated Buddhist arhats in orange and red robes amid a green landscape, with a small figure at bottom center and three smaller deities seated on clouds in the upper right.

Four Arhats: Bhadra, Vajriputra, Kanaka Bharadvaja, and Kanakavatsa

Tibet, 17th–18th century

Thangka painting of a standing multi-armed deity with a crown and orange aureole, poised on a lotus base, surrounded by six smaller seated deities in framed roundels and a green landscape background.

Nepal, 19th century

Thangka painting of a red goddess Vajrayogini wearing a bone garland, within a scrolling flame-patterned arch, flanked by lamas seated on clouds above and pink flowering plants below.

Kham region, eastern Tibet, late 19th century

Thangka painting of a red-robed lama seated on an ornate throne, with a small multi-armed dancing deity above in a red aureole, flanked by seated figures on clouds, an altar table below, and additional seated figures at the bottom of the composition.

Chogyel Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen (1235–1280)

Tibet, 18th century

A large, black-skinned, three-eyed, open-mouthed figure rides a horse at center, draped in human gore and surrounded by swirling motifs. Five figures in orange robes sit at the upper register, all against a black background with gold lines.

Shri Devi as Makzor Gyelmo, “Queen Who Repels Armies”

Central Tibet, ca. 1720

A female figure stands at center, richly dressed, with flowing hair and the word “security” inscribed across their chest in English. Concentric blue and brown circles surround the figure’s head and body respectively, against a geometric patterned background. A row of "junk" food items appears at lower left. At lower right, a group of small fleshy figures surrounded by clouds struggle to keep up on a treadmill.

Dedicated to Women Migrants: Security II

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2023

Two richly dressed figures stand side-by-side, facing frontally, against a dark background. Smaller seated figures of monks in circular motifs appear at the upper and lower portions of the painting.

Bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Vajrapani

Central Asia, 16th century

Two richly dressed, bearded figures in armor face each other, both surrounded by swirling cloud motifs, against a backdrop of green hills, trees, and a body of water. Two smaller figures of attendants are placed at lower left and right, and a dish piled high with offerings sits between the two central figures.

Vaishravana and Virupaksha, Guardian Kings of the Northern and Western Directions

Tibet, 19th century

A detailed painting showing multiple deities, with a central seated figure and consort above and a fierce multi-armed deity and consort dancing within a ring of flames below. Other smaller deities in various poses are arranged around the three largest deities.

Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo

Central Tibet, 17th - 18th century

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