Kailasa Temple, Ellora

Maker(s)
Artist: Yoshida Hiroshi 吉田博 (1876-1950)
Historical period(s)
Showa era, 1931
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 40.3 x 27.7 cm (15 7/8 x 10 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Horowitz
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.571
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Print
Type

Woodblock print

Keywords
cave, elephant, Japan, Shiva, Showa era (1926 - 1989), temple, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

After stopping in Bombay, Yoshida traveled by car to the cave temples of Ellora in the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra. The temples represent three major religious traditions: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain. The Kailasa Temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, was carved from the gray basalt that forms the hills in this region. Yoshida's print depicts the courtyard at the entrance of the temple where visitors rest in the shade. Deep shadows darken the carved face of the temple, which was built in the eighth century in a massive effort that required removal of some two hundred thousand tons of stone over more than a century. Yoshida's inscription at the bottom of the print in English attests that he applied for official permission to make sketches at the site.

Published References
  • J. Thomas Rimer. A Lyric Impulse in Modern Japanese Prints and Poetry. vol. II, no. 1 New York, Winter 1989. p. 36, fig. 3.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Whistler's Neighborhood
Google Cultural Institute
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