Tibetan and Himalayan Art

Images: Buddha Shakyamuni, 12th century. Brass, 39.4 cm high. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image via www.metmuseum.org ·· Raktayamari thangka, early 15^th century. Private collection

Situated at an average altitude of over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), and surrounded by the highest mountains in the world, Tibet has developed a culture of its own, synthesising the Bön shamanic tradition with Buddhism from India. Until very recently, virtually all Tibetan art had a religious background, with the sole purpose of being an aid to Buddhist meditation. In the words of the Dalai Lama himself, “all the elements of a Tibetan religious painting have a symbolic value. These symbols serve as aids to developing inner qualities on the spiritual path“.

Among the most characteristic works of art in Tibetan and Nepalese art are the thangkas, silk tapestries, usually painted or embroidered in a variety of colours, and with a characteristic composition that includes a central figure of a deity surrounded by smaller figures. Particularly notable for their expressiveness are the thangkas depicting the wrathful forms of the various bodhisattvas, such as those dedicated to Mahakala or Yamantaka in the Metropolitan Museum, or the sensational Raktayamari thangka, a stunning masterpiece of universal art, created in the early 15th century, for which a Chinese collector paid nearly $45 million when the work was auctioned at Christie’s in 2014.

In terms of sculpture, the figures, usually of small size, made of bronze and other metals, are particularly noteworthy. It is almost certain that this artistic medium came to Tibet from India via Nepal. Tibetan religious figures, as Marco Pallis (‘Introduction to Tibetan Art’, 1967) points out, are given a ‘heart’ in the form of a small piece of paper that is inserted into a hollow inside the cast, which is then sealed. If this hollow is opened, the sculpture is considered “dead” and must be “revived” again by a qualified person.

In addition, there are interesting examples of wall painting in Tibet, which have survived thanks to the dry climate of the region.

G. Fernández · www.theartwolf.com