Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain after Asceticism (釋迦出山圖)
Liang Kai (梁楷, c.1140-1210), Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper, 117.6 x 52.0 cm, Tokyo National Museum
Liang Kai was also good at detailed and solemn figure painting with colors. This picture depicts an image of Sakyamuni who failed to attain wisdom, in spite of a long period of ascetic practices, descending from his abode on the mountain. Its precise and realistic expression of the figure is extremely superb. Its seal, "Liang Kai, painted before his excellency," indicates that it was painted in the Imperial Palace, and it is a masterpiece of Liang Kai's color figure painting.
