Teachers: Early Paintings of Teachers (Compositional Elements)

Early Paintings of Teachers

Subjects, Topics & Types:
- Description (below)
- Indian Painting Style (Taglung/Kadam)
- Scrollwork Context:
--- Single Paintings
--- Sets of Paintings
- Masterworks
- Confusions
- Others...

Videos:
- Taglung Paintings & Compositional Elements (HAR on Patreon [13 min.])
- Taglung Art

Figure Composition:
- Single Figure
- Dual Figures
- Three Figures: #7847
- Four Figures: #36489, 19826
- Multiple Figures: #89141

Facial Directions & Other Questions:
- Why do some figures consistently look straight forward - to the front?
- Why do some figures consistently look to the right or left?
- Why are some figures paired facing each other while others are not?
- Which are the earliest dated works?
- Were paintings created on demand when commissioned or prepared in advance?
- Have painting sets of Taglung teachers been identified?
- For the lower deity register, is it a random selection, a system, or iconographic program?

Register Composition: (See examples below)
- No Registers
- Top & Bottom
- Top, Bottom & Sides
- Multiple Top, Bottom & Sides

Indian style painting is how Tibetans referred to the Buddhist paintings of the 11th through 13th centuries. The painting of that time had a distinctive look regardless of the religious tradition and subject of the painting. The principal subjects of the paintings are teachers, deities and mandalas.

Jeff Watt [updated 5-2024]