Four Compositional Types | Four types of lineage composition | Painting & Composition Types Main Page

Four Compositional Types:
- Composition 1: Group: Grouped Figures, Registers & Archaic Architecture (influence from India)
- Composition 2: Register (influence from Nepal)
- Composition 3: Repeated Figure (Tibet)
- Composition 4: Floating Figure Composition (Tibet)

Of the four types of composition in Himalayan style art, the first of these with grouped figures and registers along with the Register style Composition were the early and dominant composition style lasting from approximately the 11th century until the 16th century. The Floating Figure Composition type became the dominant composition style for scroll painting (tangka) after the 17th century.

Register Type Composition was primarily influenced from Nepal and was the dominant style in Tibet from approximately the 12th/13th century until the 16th century. The Floating Figure Composition type became the dominant composition style for scroll painting (tangka) after the 17th century.

Three general subject types are found when looking at Repeated Figure Compositions. They also correspond to an early, middle and late chronology in the development of Tibetan paintings. 1) Early paintings sometimes depict rows of identical Buddhas (along with other figures in the lower registers). The subject of these paintings are drawn from the Charya and Yoga Tantras where a particular mandala will contain the 1000 Buddhas. Although the imagery of the figures appears repeated, actually each of the Buddhas has a unique name and identity. Paintings such as these lost popularity after the 15th century. 2) After that time the subject of just painting the 1000 Buddhas as secondary figures in sets of five paintings became more popular. Again, each of these Buddhas has a unique name and identity. 3) After the 17th century it became far more popular to create paintings with repeated secondary figures that all have the same appearance, name and identity.

The Floating Figure type composition became the dominant composition style for scroll painting (tangka) after the 17th century.

Jeff Watt 2-1016