Milarepa (1040\u20131123) was a beloved Tibetan singer poet, mystic, teacher, and Buddhist saint. In this thangka, a painted cloth that can be rolled up for portability, Milarepa sits in a cave on Mount Kailash, which is sacred to both Buddhists and Hindus. In front of him, Lake Manasarovar flows by in wavy blue and green bands. Milarepa is flanked by his disciples, and his teacher, Marpa, appears in a medallion above him. Dazzling snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas frame each of the central figures, and below them multicolored foothills appear as
\nprismatic spikes refracting the sun\u2019s rays like jewels.<\/p>\n
The Five Sisters of Long Life appear along the perimeter of the thangka; devoted to Milarepa, these mountain goddesses are fierce protectors of Buddhism. The other side of this thangka contains a long inscription in Tibetan that describes the events of the saint\u2019s life. It helps establish this work as one of the earliest surviving depictions of Milarepa.<\/p>\n","short_description":null,"dimensions":"45.5 \u00d7 30 cm (17 7\/8 \u00d7 11 13\/16 in.)","dimensions_detail":[{"depth":null,"width":30,"height":45,"diameter":null,"clarification":null}],"medium_display":"Pigment and gold on cotton","inscriptions":null,"credit_line":"Asian Purchase Campaign Endowment and Robert Ross Fund","catalogue_display":null,"publication_history":"James Rondeau, ed., Paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago: Highlights of the collection <\/em> (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2025), 19 (ill.).\n\nRondeau, James (ed.). Paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago: Highlights of the Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago, 2017, p. 17.\n\nThe Essential Guide, rev. ed. (Art Institute of Chicago, 2013) p.122.\n\nThe Essential Guide, rev. ed. (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009) p.108.\n\nThe Essential Guide Revised Edition (Art Institute of Chicago, 2003), p. 87. \n\nCara Glatt, Hyde Park Herald, \"A sumptuous trek through the Himalayas\", April 16, 2003.\n\nTed Shen, The Chicago Reader, \"On Exhibit: exquisite artifacts from the roof of the world\", April 4, 2003.\n\nChicago Sun-Times (Chicago, March 30, 2003), p. 11D, Ill.\n\nPratapaditya Pal, et al., Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure (The Art Institute of Chicago, 2003), pp. 246-9: fig.162 and inscriptions p.293.\n\nPratapaditya Pal, Tibet: Tradition and Change (Albuquerque Museum, 1997) pp. 38-9.\n\nStephen Little, Recent Acquisitions in the Department of Asian Art. (The Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, 1966), vol. 22, no.1, pp. 8-9, fig. 2.","exhibition_history":"Chicago, IL, Art Institute of Chicago, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, April 5, 2003 - August 17, 2003; traveled to Washington, DC, The Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, October 18, 2003 - January 11, 2004.\n\nAlbuquerque, NM, The Albuquerque Museum, Tibet: Tradition and Change, October 18, 1997 - May 24, 1998.","provenance_text":"Koller Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, November 11, 1995.","edition":null,"publishing_verification_level":"Web Cataloged","internal_department_id":8,"fiscal_year":1996,"fiscal_year_deaccession":null,"is_public_domain":true,"is_zoomable":true,"max_zoom_window_size":-1,"copyright_notice":null,"has_multimedia_resources":false,"has_educational_resources":false,"has_advanced_imaging":false,"colorfulness":63.9451,"color":{"h":6,"l":36,"s":60,"percentage":0.1153343899837515,"population":1157},"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"latlon":null,"is_on_view":false,"on_loan_display":null,"gallery_title":null,"gallery_id":null,"nomisma_id":null,"artwork_type_title":"Painting","artwork_type_id":1,"department_title":"Arts of Asia","department_id":"PC-7","artist_id":null,"artist_title":null,"alt_artist_ids":[],"artist_ids":[],"artist_titles":[],"category_ids":["PC-7","PC-831","PC-837"],"category_titles":["Arts of Asia","Essentials","Arts of Asia 100"],"term_titles":["cloth","music","painting (image making)","Himalayan","thangka","pigment","painting","sisters","mountains","deities","clouds","animals","text","religious figures","dragons","horses","asian art","musicians","tankas (scrolls or banners)","tibetan"],"style_id":"TM-5376","style_title":"Himalayan","alt_style_ids":["TM-5385"],"style_ids":["TM-5376","TM-5385"],"style_titles":["Himalayan","tibetan"],"classification_id":"TM-16428","classification_title":"thangka","alt_classification_ids":["TM-9","TM-26","TM-12144"],"classification_ids":["TM-16428","TM-9","TM-26","TM-12144"],"classification_titles":["thangka","painting","asian art","tankas (scrolls or banners)"],"subject_id":"TM-8906","alt_subject_ids":["TM-13454","TM-12351","TM-13075","TM-11222","TM-12218","TM-12260","TM-12554","TM-11990","TM-8804","TM-8801"],"subject_ids":["TM-8906","TM-13454","TM-12351","TM-13075","TM-11222","TM-12218","TM-12260","TM-12554","TM-11990","TM-8804","TM-8801"],"subject_titles":["music","sisters","mountains","deities","clouds","animals","text","religious figures","dragons","horses","musicians"],"material_id":"TM-2569","alt_material_ids":["TM-2509"],"material_ids":["TM-2569","TM-2509"],"material_titles":["cloth","pigment"],"technique_id":"TM-3891","alt_technique_ids":[],"technique_ids":["TM-3891"],"technique_titles":["painting (image making)"],"theme_titles":["Essentials","Arts of Asia 100"],"image_id":"4747ac8d-191c-75ac-3198-f7b551441fe4","alt_image_ids":["b8f6aa67-c925-f4c3-ae99-c824f469162b"],"document_ids":[],"sound_ids":[],"video_ids":[],"text_ids":[],"section_ids":[],"section_titles":[],"site_ids":[],"suggest_autocomplete_boosted":"Milarepa on Mount Kailash","suggest_autocomplete_all":[{"input":["1995.277"],"contexts":{"groupings":["accession"]}},{"input":["Milarepa on Mount Kailash"],"weight":870,"contexts":{"groupings":["title"]}}],"source_updated_at":"2026-09-02T20:37:50-05:00","updated_at":"2026-09-02T23:41:10-05:00","timestamp":"2026-09-06T05:53:08-05:00"},"info":{"license_text":"The `description` field in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License (CC-By) and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu. 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