• Joseon Dynasty, 15th century
• Color and gold on silk
• Museum of East Asian Art Cologne

This painting, a piece of the set depicting the life story of Śākyamuni Buddha, shows the episode of the Renunciation of Prince Siddhartha. Depicted inside the grandiose palatial building, arranged on the right side of the painting, are Siddhartha’s princess consort and court maids, saddened by the prince’s departure. The top left of the painting shows the scene of the prince cutting off his hair, and the lower part of the painting depicts dispirited King Śuddhodana and the princess weeping over the prince’s riderless horse, Kanthaka. These scenes follow the content of the Seokbosangjeol, a Korean composition of the biography of Shakyamuni, supported by the court in early Joseon.