Life-size Medicine Buddha replica sparks rare US-China collaboration

A Beijing team’s results, based on a 14th century Yuan dynasty mural, have been hailed for their “profound historical and practical significance”.

The work is linked to a life-size replica of a museum masterpiece and a rare US-China collaboration.

The original mural is displayed in the Chinese galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In Gallery 206, which is dedicated to Chinese Buddhist art, visitors encounter a monumental wall measuring over 15 metres wide and 7.5 metres tall, or nearly 50 feet by 25 feet.

The wall is covered by a Buddhist assembly whose scale and appearance can briefly make the bustle of Manhattan outside seem to disappear.

At its centre is the Medicine Buddha, a 14th century Yuan dynasty mural from the period 1279-1368.

The work originally came from Guangsheng Temple in central China’s Shanxi province.

Its mineral pigments and serene deities give the mural a distinctive presence within the gallery.

The scale of the work helps explain why it leaves such a strong impression on visitors to the Met.

That impression also shaped the interest of Zhang Jian, director of the Meticulous Painting Institute at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Zhang visited the Met three times before 2023, and the mural remained a lasting influence on him.

The Beijing team’s results therefore connect the museum’s presentation of the Medicine Buddha with a wider effort described as having both historical and practical importance.

Source: South China Morning Post