Himalayan Art Resources

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Iconographic Instructions and the Artist

Himalayan and Tibetan art is primarily focussed on three subjects: Religious Studies, Iconography and Art History. The first of these, religion, is by far the most researched and studied. The second, iconography has come a long way especially with the seminal works of individuals such as Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra. Trailing at some distance behind is the study of the actual physical work of art and approaching it from the side of Art History.


What is it we are actually seeing in a painted composition? What is dictated by religious texts? How much freedom does the artist actually have?


Presented here is a sampling of two translations from the Tibetan language, 11th and 13th century, describing the iconographic appearance of Avalokiteshvara with four arms. These short works also follow closely with the older and original Sanskrit texts. Accompanying the texts are ten examples of Tibetan paintings which would be based either directly on these two texts, or on other similar texts of the time and from the various religious traditions - modelled on the same Sanskrit texts.


Look at these examples, comparing with the translated iconographic descriptions, and note the differences in composition, use of space, colour balancing, variations in ornamentation, body proportions, types and styles of textiles, integration of foreground with background, over-all balance, harmony and symmetry.