Subject: Teachers Main Page
Abstract Concepts in Art GlossaryDatabase Search: Painting | Sculpture
Subjects, Topics & Types:
- Teacher Description (below)
- Masterworks (Persons)
- Painting
- Sculpture
- Religious Topics
- Art Topics & Medium
- Iconography & Gender
- Portrait Paintings
- Teachers Unidentified
- Sculpture & Painting Comparison
- Medium
- Confusions
- Others...
The abstract subject of Teachers, historical persons, is very important in Himalayan style art because so many figurative works, both painting and sculpture, are dedicated to the depictions of individual teachers, groups of teachers, and entire lineages of teachers. Portrait art is essentially portraits of teachers. Teachers can also refer to iconic and mythical figures such as buddhas, arhats, deities, dakinis and others. Important topics are: terms, textual sources, differences in various textual sources, historical teachers and categories, current teachers and categories.
Human teachers existing within historical memory are the easier of the Teacher types to understand. In the system of the Eleven Figurative Forms there are monastics, lay and siddha figures of both genders that can be referred to as teachers. The buddhas, arhats, mythical kings of the past, along with the pantheon of deities is understood through the tools of iconography.
Alongside the general descriptions of the three main types of human teachers (guru) by appearance, how the teacher is understood from the side of iconography and in the practice of Guruyoga is also important. Literary genre plays an active role in how the teachers are depicted in specific contexts and compositions.
Jeff Watt 3-2017 [updated 12-2018, 10-2019]
(The images below are only a selection of examples from the links above).
