Buddhist Deity: Tara, Green (Golden Coloured)

Green Tara Art History

Each of the compositions below are of the deity Green Tara. The donor and the artist have agreed to add gold fill, or rather cold gold paint, to the central figures and sometimes to the secondary figures. Gold is added to increase the value of the offering expended for the creation of the Tara painting thus increasing the merit accumulated by the donor.

Video: Green Tara: Gold Fill

Gold fill can be applied to any figures, peaceful or wrathful. It is a choice of the donor based entirely on financial considerations. It is however more common to see compositions of Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya and other peaceful deities with this treatment and less common with wrathful deities. These types of paintings are related to but not included as Red Ground and Gold Ground paintings.

Jeff Watt 11-2021