Permanent display
Closing soon
Bodhisattvas of Wisdom, Compassion, and Power
27 Mar 2021 — 30 Oct 2022 at Metropolitan Museum of Art
· New York City
This exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, presented in 2021–2022, brings together a remarkable selection of works centered on bodhisattvas — enlightened beings in Buddhist tradition who defer their own nirvana to guide and protect humanity.
The show explores three defining qualities attributed to these revered figures: wisdom, compassion, and power. Through sculpture, painting, and devotional objects drawn from across Asia, visitors are invited to consider how different Buddhist cultures — from South Asia to East Asia — gave visual form to these transcendent ideals.
The works on display span centuries of artistic production and reflect the rich diversity of Buddhist iconographic traditions, offering a rare opportunity to contemplate the spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of bodhisattva imagery in a single, cohesive presentation.
The show explores three defining qualities attributed to these revered figures: wisdom, compassion, and power. Through sculpture, painting, and devotional objects drawn from across Asia, visitors are invited to consider how different Buddhist cultures — from South Asia to East Asia — gave visual form to these transcendent ideals.
The works on display span centuries of artistic production and reflect the rich diversity of Buddhist iconographic traditions, offering a rare opportunity to contemplate the spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of bodhisattva imagery in a single, cohesive presentation.
About the venue
Metropolitan Museum of Art
· New York City
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the fourth-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5,727,258 visitors in fiscal year 2025, it was the most-visited museum in…
