Fine Art

Mahakala — History & Facts

The second guard at a Shiva temple is Mahakala, who stands on Shiva’s left side. His demonic characteristics – wild hair, bulging eyes and open mouth, a fat body  and curled-up toes – make him the opposite of the graceful Nandishvara. It is likely that his left hand once rested on a club.

His index finger points downwards, towards worshippers entering the temple.

More Artworks by Unknown Artist

A scene depicting two figures in an interior setting from the 'Yadorigi' chapter of The Tale of Genji.

The Tale of Genji Scroll: Yadorigi

Unknown Artist

A dynamic scene depicting figures on a shore gesturing towards a floating granary above the water.

Legends of Mount Shigi: The Flying Granary

Unknown Artist

A chaotic scene depicting an assault on the Sanjō Palace with armed figures and burning architecture.

Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace

Unknown Artist

A colorful hanging scroll depicting the Womb World Mandala with a central Buddha figure surrounded by deities.

Womb World Mandala (Mandala of the Two Realms)

Unknown Artist

Musicians and elegantly dressed figures occupy a shallow foreground against a gold-leaf background in the Hikone Screen.

Hikone Screen

Unknown Artist

A folio from the Blue Qur'an featuring gold Kufic script on indigo-dyed parchment.

Folio from the Blue Qur'an

Unknown Artist

A funeral procession with Isfandiyar's body on a golden bier, surrounded by mourners in flowing robes.

The Funeral of Isfandiyar (Great Mongol Shahnama)

Unknown Artist

The Ideal City

The Ideal City

Unknown Artist

The Wilton Diptych features a kneeling king presented by saints on the left and the Virgin Mary with angels on the right.

The Wilton Diptych

Unknown Artist

A knight in full armor rides a horse through a rocky landscape accompanied by a skeletal figure holding an hourglass, a horned creature, and a running dog.

Ridder, Dood en Duivel

Unknown Artist

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More Religious Art

A triptych showing a lush garden with nude figures and animals on the left, a vibrant central panel of nude humans and fantastical creatures, and a dark, fiery hellscape with tortured figures on the right.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch

Father embraces his son in an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn

The Return of the Prodigal Son

Rembrandt van Rijn

A young woman in a red dress and blue mantle sits on a rock with two children, one holding a small bird, set against a landscape of hills and trees.

Madonna of the Goldfinch

Raphael

Rembrandt's 'The Crucifixion' depicts a dramatic moment in a religious context.

The Crucifixion

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rubens' depiction of Christ on the Cross with Mary, Mary Magdalene, and St John in a moment of profound grief.

Christ on the Cross with Maria, Mary Magdalene and St John

Peter Paul Rubens

A muscular female figure in an orange robe twists her body holding a massive open book above her head, with a young attendant seated behind her.

Libyan Sibyl

Michelangelo

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