Rubin Museum of Art

Tibet

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.

Works of Art

Select each work to learn more.

Black Cloak Mahakala
Tibet, 18th century
Buddha Ratnasambhava with Wealth Deities
Tibet, early to mid-14th century
Buddha Ratnasambhava
Central Tibet, 13th century
Buddha Shakymuni and scenes from his life
Tsang Province, Central Tibet, second half of the 14th century
Four Mandalas of the Vajravali Cycle
Ewam Choden Monastery, Tsang Province, Central Tibet, 1429-1456
Green Tara
Tibet, 17th century
Guhyasamaja Akshobhyavajra
Central Tibet, early 17th century (ca. 1604)
Padmasambhava
Tibet, 15th century
Pratisara, one of the Five Protector Goddesses
Central Tibet, possibly Densatil Monastery, mid-14th to mid-15th century
Sacred Earthly Realms and Heavenly Paradises
Central Tibet, 17th century
Indian Master Shantarakshita (active 8th century) and Scenes from his Life
Tibet, 19th century
Sherab Chamma, “Loving Mother of Wisdom”
Tibet, 19th century
Situ Panchen as Patron of the Avadana Set, After Situ’s set of The Wish-granting Vine Series of One Hundred and Eight Morality Tales
Kham Province, Eastern Tibet, 19th century
Buddhashri Sanggye Pel (1339–1419) Surrounded by the Yogachara lineage Masters of the bodhisattva vow
Ngor Ewam Choden Monastery, Tsang Province, Central Tibet, ca. 1515-1535
Arhat Chudapantaka
Tibet, late 15th century
Mahasiddha Virupa
Gongkar Chode Monastery, U Province, Central Tibet, ca. 1659-1671
White Chakrasamvara, From Situ’s set of Twenty-seven Tutelary Deities
Kham Province, Eastern Tibet, late 18th century
Illuminated Folio (Title Page) of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparmita) Sutra Manuscript
Western Tibet, 15th century
Illuminated Folio (Frontispiece) of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparmita) Sutra Manuscript
Western Tibet, 15th century
Mountain God Kula Kari
Tibet, 19th century
Eighth Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje (1507-1554)
Tibet, ca. 16th century
Phakmodrupa (1110–1170) with His Previous Incarnations and Episodes from His Life
Central Tibet, ca. 1272
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Phakmodrupa (1110–1170) with His Previous Incarnations and Episodes from His Life

Central Tibet
ca. 1272

Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
C2002.24.3

This painting belongs to the Taklung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. The school’s main monastic seat, Taklung Monastery (founded 1185), was an artistic center known for its distinctive eastern Indian–inspired painting style (Sharri). This style is recognizable here by the multicolored, narrow, rock formations used to frame the figures.

Pakmodrupa, at center, was a charismatic Buddhist mystic, and portraits of him circulated widely both during and after his lifetime. In such early Tibetan portraits, the lama, or religious master, is visually elevated to the level of a buddha. He sits between two columns featuring scenes of his previous lives.

On the back of this painting are several inscriptions that allow us to both reconstruct something of the history of the object and discern its date, unusual for Tibetan art. They record its consecration by Sanggye Wonpo (1251–1296), and suggest that it was likely created in 1272, the year of Wonpo’s brief tenure as interim abbot of Taklung. In 1273 he took this painting and many other sacred objects with him to Riwoche in Kham region in eastern Tibet.

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