A new subject specific glossary has been added to the HAR website. The topic is Monastery, Residence & Retreat Terminology. This new addition is meant to assist with understanding painting topics such as the Labrang Monastery Cityscape and other site locations depicted in art. The glossary is a work in progress with more terms to be added and many more corresponding links to image examples.
Two more outstanding paintings at the Winter Palace Museum are focussed on the subjects of Vajrabhairava and Jetsun Dampa. The first painting is dominated by a a large mandala in the upper half of the composition and an image of the white multi-faced, multi-armed, Sitatpatra at the bottom center. The second painting has a depiction of Vajrabhairava with consort at the center of the composition with numerous large squares containing narrative vignettes in registers at the top, sides and bottom of the painting. The secret life story and spiritual experiences of Jetsun Damapa are depicted in both paintings. Extensive explanatory inscriptions can be found on the front and back of the paintings.
1. Vajrabhairava Mandala & Sitatapatra
The Winter Palace Museum has some interesting objects and with paintings there are a couple that stand out and really command attention. One of those paintings is a life story composition of Milarepa. The entire life story is contained in the single composition. Everything about it is unusual from the artistic style to the selection of narratives depicted surrounding the central figure.
The full collection of paintings at the Winter Palace Museum can be difficult to see with only a few paintings out at any particular time. There are small miniature paintings, medium sized paintings, black ground, red ground and textiles. The most eye-catching painting for some visitors might be the floor to ceiling Maharakta Ganapati, framed with full brocade mounts, commissioned by the previous owner of the Winter Palace (Bogd Khan) at the turn of the century to help increase their fortunes and power.
The collection of sculpture at the Winter Palace Museum is worth seeing just on its own. It can be divided into two distinct subjects. The first subject is a magnificent set of Green Tara images, accompanied originally by Marichi and Ekajati, along with the Twenty-one Taras of the Atisha Tradition. The Marichi from the set is missing from this group and resides in the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. Approximately three of the twenty-one Tara images are missing with one recently appearing in the Sotheby's Auction House in New York in March 2011. The second group of sculpture is a miscellaneous assortment of buddhas, teachers, deities and a large portrait bronze of Zannabazar.
The Winter Palace Museum in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, holds some of the most interesting and idiosyncratic objects of Mongolian Buddhist history. Most of the museums in the capital city share a wealth of Zannabazar sculpture. The Winter Palace Museum also houses paintings and personal objects of the last Jetsun Dampa who ruled Mongolia.
Three new West Tibet photo galleries have been added to the site: Dungkar Caves, Piyang Caves and Tsaparang. The new photo archive is courtesy of Uranchimeg Tsultem.
See the West Tibet Main Page for a list of all cave, temple, village and fortress sites currently on HAR.
Images of the Karpo Lhakang (White Temple) of Tsaparang have been uploaded along with the Do Zhang Temple located some miles distant. These images accompany those of the Marpo Lhakang (Red Temple) which were highlighted on the Himalayan Art Resources Facebook page July 25th - last week.
A Vasudhara Masterworks Page has been added to Masterworks of Himalayan & Tibetan Art.
Shadbhuja Mahakala (Six Armed Great Black One) has been added to the Masterworks of Himalayan & Tibetan Art Page.
The Suryagupta Tradition of Tara is best known for the set of Twenty-one Taras. It is certainly one of the earliest of the systems of Twenty-one along with the Atisha and Sadhana-samucchaya sets, followed later by the Tibetan systems of the Longchen Nyingtig and Choggyur Lingpa.
The unique iconographic feature of the Suryagupta twenty-one Taras are their individual appearances, expressions, number of faces, arms, and colour. The Twenty-one are generally practiced in the style of Kriya Tantra while the Seventeen Deity Tara is an Anuttarayoga practice with full explanations of Generation and Completion Stage Yogas.
Ganden Monastery (Ganden Namgyal Ling, dga' ldan rnam rgyal gling) was founded by Je Tsongkapa in 1409 and is the seat of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. The supreme abbot of the monastery is called the Ganden Tripa (throne holder) and he is also the head of the Gelug Tradition. The most precious object in the temple is the stupa containing the body of Tsongkapa, created in 1419. Ganden, along with Sera and Drepung, are the three most important Gelug monasteries and are commonly considered the largest in all of Tibet.
Namkha Gyan of Trehor was a very famous artist of East Tibet in the late 17th and 18th centuries. One of his chief patrons was the 3rd Panchen Lama who commissioned paintings which were then given as gifts to the Chinese Emperor of the time. These paintings can still be seen in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Other examples of Namkha Gyan's work can be found in Chengdu, as well as throughout the Kangdze region of East Tibet.
This publication is of significant importance as the first modern publication in any language to be devoted to the works of an individual Tibetan historical artist. The text of the publication is in Tibetan, Chinese and English.
Langkajie Tangka: The Legacy of Seventeenth Century Tangka Painting Master. Author: Yangtar Lhamo. January 2012. ISBN 978-7-5410-4806-7.
Thanglha Tsewang (1902-1989), an artist and teacher. This publication is one of the first, possibly 'the' first, to highlight the life and works of a 20th century individual Tibetan artist - shattering the common Western notion that Tibetan artists are unknown and egoless.
Thanglha Tsewang first learned how to draw at age 10 from his uncle and was very much encouraged in his studies by the famous Katog Situ. Later, he became a monk and was very closely associated with Palpung Monastery in Eastern Tibet. Over the course of his life he created a large body of works, primarily paintings and in the style of Eastern Tibet - many of which are reproduced in the publication.
Many of these paintings are also represented on the Himalayan Art Resources website.
Collection of Tanglazewang. Authors: Konchog Tenzin, Yontan Tsering, Dodril. August 2006. ISBN 7-5409-3235-X/J-121.
A new publication highlighting a set of eleven paintings depicting the life story of Gesar has been published by the Sichuan Museum of Chengdu, China. The large format coffee table style art book has full page images of the eleven paintings along with inummerable details of each. The text is primarily in Tibetan and Chinese language with three English language articles by prominant Western scholars. The well known R.A. Stein article in French on the Gesar painting set has been translated into English and Chinese. Dr. Amy Heller discusses the historical and art historical context and HAR Director and Chief Curator Jeff Watt contributed an article on the art and iconography of Gesar.
From the Treasury of Tibetan Pictorial Art: Painted Scrolls of the Life of Gesar. Sichuan Museum. Editor, Zhang Changhong. June 2012. ISBN 978-7-101-08513-6.
Gesar Norbu Dradul: A Single Painting Depicting the Forms of Gesar According to the Writings of Mipham Gyatso.
The example of a single painting with many forms of Gesar is very important for the study of Gesar iconography because it follows exactly the textual descriptions as written by Mipam Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso (1846-1912). The forms of Gesar depicted in this composition are some of the best known and most popular in the 20th century religious practice and in the artistic representations - painting and sculpture.
The single painting is of a standard medium size and is over flowing with figures of all sizes. The central and largest figure is that of Gesar Norbu Dradul in Dralha (dgra lha) warrior appearance, (full article) ...
(Due to length, the section above was edited out of the publication From the Treasury of Tibetan Pictorial Art: Painted Scrolls of the Life of Gesar. Editor-in-Chief, Zhang Changhong. Forward by Leonard van der Kuijp. Article by Jeff Watt. Sichuan Museum, 2012. ISBN: 978-7-101-08513-6).
The Himalayan Art Resources team have been asked to write a series of introductory postings on Buddhist iconography for the Tricycle Magazine Blog. See below for more information and links.
"Buddhist practice and Buddhist art have been inseparable in the Himalayas ever since Buddhism arrived to the region in the eighth century. But for the casual observer it can be difficult to make sense of the complex iconography. Not to worry—Himalayan art scholar Jeff Watt is here to help. In this "Himalayan Buddhist Art 101" series, Jeff will make sense of this rich artistic tradition by presenting a weekly image from the Himalayan Art Resources archives and explaining its role in the Buddhist tradition." (Tricycle Blog).
The Topics to Date are Listed Below:
- Calm Abiding 5, April 2012
- Buddhas 12, April 2012
- Bodhisattvas 19, April, 2012
- Mandalas 26, April 2012
- Mandalas Part II 3, May 2012
- Gods & Deities in Tantric Buddhism 9, May 2012
- Meditational Deities 17, May 2012
- Wisdom Deities 24, May 2012
- Protector Deities - Mahakala & Shri Devi 7, June 2012
- Protector Deities of Tibetan Origin 14, June 2012
- Meditational Deities Part II 21, June 2012
- Meditational Deities of Tibet 28, June 2012
- Wealth Deities 5, July 2012
- Power Deities 12, July 2012
Various Indian and Tibetan teachers depicted in a three composition painting set.
The painting subject is believed to be the depictions of the important teachers in the lineage of Situ Panchen. The figures included in the composition relate to an early biography of the Tai Situpas. Five compositions with the same format are currently known to exist, but with different teachers in the composition. There are three paintings in the complete set. This determination of a three painting set is based on the Rubin Museum painting with a back inscription which reads 'left painting.' This suggests that there is a center painting and a right painting, which makes for a set of three. The Rubin Museum painting and one of the Jiang collection paintings are identical in figures and layout.
The Rubin Museum painting is different than the others. It is painted with black ink on gold silk with no ground and little use of colour. The other four paintings are on a prepared ground and painted in rich colours. The style of painting for all is that of Kham (East Tibet) and very strongly associated with Palpung Monastery comparisons. The depictions of the monastic figures and specifically the drawing of the robes also follow closely with examples of Karma Gardri sculpture of Central Tibet in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Painting Sets (four known sets, five known paintings):
- Rubin Museum (one painting)
- Hahn Foundation (one painting)
- Ashmolean Museum (one painting)
- Jiang Collection (two paintings)
Nyentog Monastery is located in the town of Rebkong in the region of Amdo, Tibet. In one small chapel at the side of the main monastery are several well preserved wall murals. These paintings are believed to have been created during the time of Ngagchang Jamyang Lodro in the late 17th century. This prominant teacher of Rebkong was a student of the 5th Dalai Lama and Trichen Lodro Gyatso. The painting style of the murals are also said to be in the mixed traditions of Menri and Khyenri. The Menri style referred to here is not the 'New' Menri Sarma of Choying Gyatso, associated with Tashi Lhunpo and the Panchen Lama, but rather the original Menri style of Manla Dondrub and the Khyenri style of Khyentse Chenmo of Gongkar Chode Monastery.
Regardless of the precise painting style names, the compositions are magnificent examples of the early, post-Sakya, Rebkong painting tradition.
Tibetan Traditional Art & Contemporary Painting by Sherab Gyaltsen of Lhasa explores traditional Tibetan themes in painting and the possibilities of expressing and relating to them in his own painting style within a contemporary art context. "When a work of art or any phenomena touches my soul, no matter whether beautiful or ugly, I believe this impression to be art. Naturally, my art is seeking to always express my internal spirit world; the wide and generous Buddhist world is my artistic resource." (Asian Art, www.asianart.com).
