The Isa Upanishad

1995

Not on view

India and its cultural traditions have long inspired Francesco Clemente. The Isa Upanishad is a suite of nineteen drawings based on the Isha Upanishad, one of the shortest Upanishads, a collection of texts written in Sanskrit between the eighth and sixth centuries that convey the central philosophical tenets of Hinduism. Clemente’s drawings are not literal illustrations of the Isha Upanishad, though he does quote from it directly. The text serves as a referent, from which Clemente freely evolved his series of eclectic images.

Artwork Details

Title: The Isa Upanishad
Artist: Francesco Clemente (Italian, born Naples, 1952)
Date: 1995
Medium: Pastel on nineteen sheets of paper
Dimensions: 19 1/4 × 26 3/8 in. (48.9 × 67 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Object Number: 2007.49.27a–s
Rights and Reproduction: © Francesco Clemente
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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