Mogao Cave 17: Life of the Buddha

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties

This 10th century painting portrays Prince Siddhartha encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic at the four gates of the city of Kapilavastu. It is divided into four distinct scenes. At the top of the painting, the prince, riding on a white horse, exits the city and meets an old man leaning on a staff. Below, the prince rides out towards a sick man lying on a bed. A grieving figure with raised arms and disheveled hair mourns the death of a figure covered in a red cloth in the third scene. At the bottom of the picture, the prince encounters a monk.