"It looks like someone you might know, someone you might talk to."
Curator Denise Leidy on a life-size sculpture of an arhat (or luohan, as they are known in China).
Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world.
Photography by Bruce J. Schwarz
Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1
#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art
Why this Buddhist Monk statue defies traditional depictions of religious figures
"It looks like someone you might know, someone you might talk to."
Denise Patry Leidy
2 min. watch
Contributors
Denise Patry Leidy
Curator, Department of Asian Art
Curator, Department of Asian Art
More from The Met
How do works in The Met collection trace the shifting associations of blonde glamour in Western art?
Lynda Nead
February 2
The author of After Sappho offers a queer feminist reading of Eve and the serpent, reimagining sin as likeness, desire, and bodies transcending gender and species.
Selby Wynn Schwartz
January 9
Author Leena Krohn reflects on Helene Schjerfbeck’s portrait of Sigrid Nyberg.
Leena Krohn
December 18, 2025
Art Mentioned
A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
China
ca. 1000