Indra grants Phusati ten favors before she descends to earth of become the mother of Vessantara, a scene from the next-to-last life of the Buddha (Vessantara Jataka)
Matted: H. 28 in × W. 22 1/16 in (71.1 cm × 56 cm)
These paintings [2006.27.81.1 and 2006.27.80.1] come from two different sets that illustrate the story of a previous life of the Buddha when he was Prince Vessantara.
Both paintings show the same scene, a sort of prelude to the story in which the king of the gods invites a celestial woman, Phusati, to be born on earth and become a queen and the mother of the Buddha-to-be, Vessantara. She agrees, and receives ten blessings.
The two paintings show how radically Thai paintings of the same subject might change in only two or three generations. The artist of earlier painting [2006.27.81.1] has kept the space in the picture rather shallow, and has emphasized the careful arrangement of silhouetted forms. This artist has also followed an old tradition of not hesitating to show the same figure--the celestial woman-- twice, at two different moments, within one picture.
The later artist [2006.27.80.1] has experimented with a variety of effects informed by Western painting traditions. Among these are showing deep space, depicting the sky as blue with fluffy clouds, and not showing the same figure twice. (The two women across from the celestial woman being blessed are attendants.)
