The terrifying deity that protects Buddhist monasteries

"It not only grabs my attention and pulls me into this alternate reality, but it plays very much with issues that I find threatening."

"It not only grabs my attention and pulls me into this alternate reality, but it plays very much with issues that I find threatening."

Curator Kurt Behrendt on a painting of Mahakala, Protector of the Tent

Explore this artwork:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/78195

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.

Photography by Eileen Travell

Selected tracks provided by APM Music

Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1

#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art


Contributors

Kurt Behrendt
Associate Curator, Department of Asian Art

Female figure with long, dark hair and blue skin stands assertively, eyes wide and tongue out. Her multiple arms hold a sword and severed head, and she wears a necklace and belt of body parts.
Wrathful images of the divine in South Asia are meant to protect and nurture, not to be feared.
Vaishnavi Patil
March 9
Silver fish sculpture with emerald green eyes, lifelike scales, and visible details.
How do these exquisite examples of Judaica represent universal themes related to special days in the Jewish calendar?
Riva Arnold
February 20
Pop art portrait of a woman with bright orange hair, turquoise skin, pink lips, and lavender eyeshadow on a pink background.
How do works in The Met collection trace the shifting associations of blonde glamour in Western art?
Lynda Nead
February 2
More in:82nd and Fifth: Art ExplainedReligion & Spirituality

A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Mahakala, Protector of the Tent, Distemper on cloth, Central Tibet
Central Tibet
ca. 1500