Goddess of Mercy by Ding Guanpeng 丁观鹏 (1708-1771)

Avalokiteśvara [观音] Goddess of Mercy (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर) 

 by Ding Guanpeng 丁观鹏 (1708-1771)

Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin 观音) is known as a bodhisattva in Buddhism and often shown to the left of Amitābha in the depictions of the Three Saints of the West. Considered the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteśvara is called upon by living beings seeking deliverance from suffering.  Avalokiteśvara was originally a male-bodied figure. After Buddhism was brought to China, the traditions surrounding Avalokiteśvara evolved. Between 420–589 the figure has been portrayed as a female-bodied figure.

In hhis picture a thousand handed-watching Guanyin, each hand holding a small axe, lotus, sword, bow and arrow and other magic weapons; head clouds on the clouds, the clouds in the top of the small Buddha, the flowers fly. The Guanyin face and the arm are multi-layered and have a strong three-dimensional texture. This shows that Ding Guanpeng inherits the traditional techniques, but also absorbs the characteristics of the tone and perspective of Western paintings and forms his own style.

Guanyin Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara