Beginning in the fifteenth century there was a gradual shift in Tibetan art from an Indic-centered aesthetic toward a more Chinese-centered one. This shift reflects the disappearance of Buddhism in India and Tibet’s increasingly close cultural, economic, and political ties to its northeastern Mongolian and Chinese neighbors.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, newly emerging Tibetan painting styles in Central Tibet were named after famous indigenous masters and artistic centers rather than adopted traditions such as Eastern Indian, Kashmiri, or Nepalese. These new styles, including the Menri, Khyenri, and Gardri, were known for their integration of Chinese-inspired landscapes and corresponding shift to increasingly green and blue palettes of malachite and azurite.
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Central Tibet
17th century
In this painting Tibet’s sacred geography is mapped out, with Mount Wutai and its distinctive five multicolored peaks to the east (bottom left) and Mount Kailash’s snowy peaks towering over nomadic scenes of the Northern Plains to the west (top right).
The central imagery in this painting accords with a prophecy in which a universal ruler transforms the world into an ideal realm. Here the king sits in a palace surrounded by representatives of various races and nations who have come to make offerings at his feet.
This work of art represents later developments in the painting traditions in central Tibet, dominated by rich green and blue landscape palettes, dense lively compositions, highly decorative ornamentation, and dramatic landscapes.
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