thumb|Buddha Vairocana, the “Resplendent One”. Pigments on cloth, 14th century

thumb|Thangka depicting [[Vajrabhairava, c. 1740]]

thumb|A large thangka hung on a [[Thangka wall|special wall at Gyantse in Tibet in 1938]]

A thangka painting (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thangkas are relatively small, comparable in size to a western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. Most thangkas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. They often have elaborate compositions including many very small figures. A central deity is often surrounded by other identified figures in a symmetrical composition. Narrative scenes are less common, but do appear.

Thangka serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is the Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra), which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment). The term may sometimes be used of works in other media than painting, including reliefs in metal and woodblock prints. Today, printed reproductions at poster size of painted thangka are commonly used for devotional as well as decorative purposes. Many thangkas were produced in sets, though they have often subsequently become separated.

History

Tibetan Buddhist painting developed from widespread traditions of early Buddhist paintings which now only survive in a few sites such as the Ajanta Caves in India and the Mogao Caves in China, which have very extensive wall-paintings and were the repository for what are now the earliest surviving Tibetan paintings on cloth. The thanka form developed alongside the tradition of Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, which are or were mostly in monasteries.

The early history of the form is more easily traced through these murals, which survive in greater numbers than the portable paintings which certainly once existed. The art form originating from the Newari art of Phauba from Nepal, from the early years artists were commissioned from Nepal, furthermore, ancient texts have been found wherein instructions were provided as to the proportions, postures and geometrical measurements of these deities to the monasteries from Nepal. Most thanka were commissioned by individuals, who were believed to acquire merit by doing so. They might then be given to a monastery or another individual, or retained for use by the commissioner. Some thangka have inscriptions on their back recording that they were the personal meditation image (thugs dam) of a notable monk. Most artists were probably monks, although lay artists seem to have also existed, as they did for metalwork sculpture. The commissioner would provide the materials, which were often valuable, and by tradition the compensation to the artist was regarded as a "gift" rather than a fee. The word "thangka" means "thing that one unrolls" in Classical Tibetan. Thangka are very rarely signed, but some artists are known, more because they were important monastic leaders than famous as artists. Painting was a valued accomplishment in a monk.

The earliest surviving Tibetan paintings on cloth are from the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang on the Silk Road in Gansu province, China. The "Library Cave" there was a repository of old or worn out manuscripts, paintings, prints, textiles and other items which was sealed off in the 11th century, after several centuries of deposits. Many of the paintings have Tibetan inscriptions or are in a style that can be recognized as Tibetan, as opposed to the dominant Han Chinese style and some pieces reflecting Indian styles. Though they are hard to date, it is thought that these pieces mainly come from a period c. 781–848 during Tang dynasty rule.

Surviving tangkas on cloth certainly from Tibet itself start in the 11th century, after the revival of Buddhism; there are some 20 surviving from the 11th and 12th century. Such early examples typically have compositions that are already complex, but less so than in later examples. Later the typical compositions show a central figure flanked by smaller figures, often in framed compartments, or surrounded by flaming halos or seated on small clouds. Behind these figures a landscape background including much sky is often indicated, though little of it may be visible. The central figure may be a deity, arhat, or important monk, and the same groups make up the background figures. Several of the figures may be different "aspects" or reincarnations of each other according to Buddhist theology. In the example at left the flanking bodhisattvas are in a style, one of several found in such figures in this period, that appears derived from central Indian art.

Over the following centuries Tibetan painting, both on walls and thangka, continued to develop in its distinctive style, balancing between the two major influences of Indo-Nepalese and Han Chinese painting, despite Buddhism being on the general decline in these regions. Styles could vary considerably between the different regions of Tibet, as well as the wider region where tangkas were painted. Within Tibet the regions nearer Nepal and the rest of China were often more influenced by regional styles. Bhutanese tangkas were mainly influenced by Central Tibet. The different monastic orders also developed somewhat different stylistic characters.

Tibetan painting incorporated many elements from Han Chinese painting, especially from the 14th century onwards, reaching a peak in the 18th century. One aspect of this was allowing more space and emphasis to the landscape background. In general the style of figures in thangkas remains derived from the Indo-Nepalese tradition. According to Giuseppe Tucci, by the time of the Qing dynasty, "a new Tibetan art was then developed, which in a certain sense was a provincial echo of the Chinese 18th century's smooth ornate preciosity."

File:Yama Dharmapala. Tibeto-chinese. Silk embroidery, 18th Century. British Museum..jpg|Yama Dharmapala, Tibeto-Chinese, silk embroidery, 18th century

File:Tara thangka.jpg|18th-century Eastern Tibetan thanka, with the Green Tara (Samaya Tara Yogini) in the center and the Blue, Red, White and Yellow taras in the corners, Rubin Museum of Art

File:Bhutanese thanka of Mt. Meru and the Buddhist Universe.jpg|Bhutanese thangka of Mt. Meru and the Buddhist Universe, 19th century, Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan

File:Medicine Buddha painted mandala with goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th century, Rubin.jpg|Painted Bhutanese Medicine Buddha mandala with the goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th century, Rubin Museum of Art

File:Bhutanese Drukpa applique Buddhist lineage thonka with Shakyamuni Buddha in center, 19th century, Ruben Museum of Art.jpg|Bhutanese Drukpa Kagyu applique Buddhist lineage thangka with Shakyamuni Buddha in center, 19th century, Rubin Museum of Art

File:Bhutanese painted complete mandala, 19th century, Seula Gonpa, Punakha, Bhutan.jpg|Bhutanese painted complete mandala, 19th century, Seula Gonpa, Punakha, Bhutan

File:Bhutanese painted thanka of Guru Nyima Ozer, late 19th century, Do Khachu Gonpa, Chukka, Bhutan.jpg|Bhutanese painted thangka of Guru Nyima Ozer, late 19th century, Do Khachu Gonpa, Chukha, Bhutan

File:Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th Century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan.jpg|Bhutanese painted thangka of Milarepa (1052–1135), late 19th–early 20th century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan

File:Bhutanese painted thanka of the Jataka Tales, 18th-19th Century, Phajoding Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan.jpg|Bhutanese painted thangka of the Jataka Tales, 18th–19th century, Phajoding Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan

File:The Qianlong Emperor in Buddhist Dress.jpg|The Qianlong Emperor of China dressed as a monk

File:Wheel of Existence.jpg|Wheel of Life, from about 1800, Birmingham Museum of Art

File:Situ Panchen. Mahasiddha Ghantapa. From Situ's set of the Eight Great Tantric Adepts. 18th century, Coll. of John and Berthe Ford..jpg|The mahasiddha Ghantapa (below), from Situ Panchen's set of thangka depicting the Eight Great Tantric Adepts. 18th century, with Chinese influence

File:Tibetan Thangka, anonymous, private collection.jpg|Tibetan thangka of the Chemchok Heruka

File:Pair of Manuscript Covers with Three Deities and Three Hierarchs, 1.jpg|One of a pair of book covers, c. 12th century

File:Shakyamuni-Thangka.jpg|19th-century Mongolian distemper painting with highlights of gold, depicting Shakyamuni flanked by Avalokiteśvara and Manjushri. The form of Manjushri depicted here is not wielding the characteristic flaming sword, but there are many forms of the eight great bodhisattvas, some are based on the Indian tradition, and other from visions of historical masters.

File:Painting Thangka Lhasa Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006.jpg|Painting Thangka in Lhasa, Tibet (2006)

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See also

References

Works cited

  • Fully available online as PDF.

Further reading

  • 3 volumes.
  • Painting: Scroll Work at Himalayan Art Resources
  • Tibetan Thangka Painting at Norbulingka Institute
  • Art of Thangka Gallery at Thangka-art.com
  • Dharmapala Thangka Centre. www.thangka.de