Thangka

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thangka paintings in the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Sikkim
Kubera, painting tempera on cotton, 27 × 20 cm, Ulaanbaatar 2002, Otgonbayar Ershuu

A thangka ( Tib . : thang ka, thang ga ) is a scroll image of Tantric Buddhism . It is hung up for meditation in temples or house altars and carried along during processions. Represented Buddhas , Bodhisattvas , tutelary deities , the 16 (or 18) Arhats and various lamas , ascetics and Pandits in scenes of her life in various incarnations, or symbols such as the Mandala . Frequent further subjects are Padmasambhava, the semi-mythical founder of Buddhism in Tibet, the wheel of life or semi-schematic school and tradition lines (e.g. in the shape of a tree).

description

Thangkas are created according to precisely defined iconographic regulations (with regard to body shape, clothing and posture of the sitter). They are mostly painted on linen, more rarely on silk (very rarely on leather) and are particularly common in Tibet , partly in Nepal and India , especially in the border areas with Tibet. They used to be common in China outside of Tibet .

Thangkas painted with watercolor on canvas are called bris-thang in Tibetan ; in silk woven or embroidered hot gos-thang .

Depending on the material used and the painting techniques, there are different types:

  • Nagthang with gold-colored lines on a black background.
  • Serthang with gold colored lines on a red background or red lines on a blue background.
  • Thangka of the line represent a line resp. Painting technique that is passed on from the masters to the best of their students.
Longest thangka in the Qinghai Tibetan Cultural Museum in Xining

The largest thangka is exhibited at the Qinghai Tibetan Cultural Museum in Xining . It measures 618 meters in length and 2.5 meters in height. Four hundred painters worked four years to complete the scroll painting. The preparations and preliminary sketches alone took 23 years. In terms of content, all types of cultural and religious life of the Tibetans are reproduced. Historical events, all lamas, medical topics and cosmology are also presented. The thangka winds through several rooms of the museum and may not be photographed.

literature

General

  • Giuseppe Tucci : Tibetan Painted Scrolls . 3 volumes. Rome 1949
  • Detlef Ingo Lauf : The legacy of Tibet. Nature and interpretation of the Buddhist art of Tibet . Bern, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-405-11036-X , 2nd edition Berlin 1975, ISBN 978-3-405-11036-9
  • Helmut Uhlig: The image of the Buddha . Berlin 1979, ISBN 3-7934-1617-8
  • Helmut Uhlig: Tantric Art of Buddhism . Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-7934-1609-7
  • Gerd-Wolfgang Essen, Tsering Tashi Thingo: Padmasambhava. Life and miracles of the great tantric master from Kashmir in the mirror of Tibetan visual art . Cologne 1991, ISBN 3-7701-2734-X (describes the complex iconography of the mythical founder of Buddhism in Tibet and its background)
  • Per Kværne: The Bon Religion of Tibet: The Iconography of a Living Tradition . Serindia, London 1995. ISBN 0-906026-35-0
  • David P. Jackson : A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions . (Contributions to the cultural and intellectual history of Asia). Vienna 1996, ISBN 978-3-7001-2224-1 (the standard work on the history of painting)
  • John Avedon: The Buddha's Art of Healing: Tibetan Paintings Rediscovered . Rizzoli 1998, ISBN 978-0-8478-2089-4
  • Martin Willson, Martin Brauen: Deities of Tibetan Buddhism: The Zurich Paintings of the Icons Worthwhile to See . Wisdom Pubn. 2000, ISBN 978-0-86171-098-0
  • Robert N. Linrothe: Paradise and Plumage: Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting . Serindia Publications 2004, ISBN 978-1-932476-07-1
  • David P. and Janice Jackson: Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials . Serindia Publications 2006, ISBN 978-1-932476-29-3
  • Laila Williamson, Serinity Young (Ed.): Body & Spirit: Tibetan Medical Paintings . University of Washington Press 2009, ISBN 978-0-295-98869-6
  • David P. Jackson: Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style . Rubin Museum of Art 2009, ISBN 978-0-9772131-4-6
  • David P. Jackson: The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting . Rubin Museum of Art 2010, ISBN 978-0-9772131-8-4
  • Amy Heller: Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas (Tibetan Manuscripts Paintings) . Kodansha Europe Ltd. 2010, ISBN 978-1-932476-44-6
  • Marisa Laurenzi Tabasso, Massimiliano A. Polichetti, Claudio Seccaroni (eds.): Visibilia Invisibilium: Non-invasive analyzes on Tibetan paintings from the Tucci expeditions . Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78694-8

On iconography and symbolism

  • Detlef Ingo Lauf: The hidden message of Tibetan thangkas . Freiburg 1976, ISBN 3-591-08025-X (2nd edition: Secret revelation of Tibetan thangkas: picture meditation and interpretation of Lamaist cult paintings . Braunschweig 1991, ISBN 3-591-08025-X , German, English)
  • Detlef Ingo Lauf: An Iconography of Tibetan Buddhism . Graz 1979, ISBN 3-201-01092-8 (standard work)
  • Alexandra Lavizzari-Raeuber: Thangkas, scroll paintings from the Himalayas. Art and mystical meaning . Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7701-1408-6 (good overview of iconography and symbolism)
  • Martin Brauen : The Mandala. The sacred circle in Tantric Buddhism . Cologne 1992. ISBN 3-7701-2509-6
  • Roland Steffan, Doboom Tulku, Glenn H. Mullin: Compassion and Rebirth in Tibetan Art: Thangkas from the Tibet House Museum in New Delhi . Historical and Völkerkundemuseum St. Gallen 1995, ISBN 3-9520595-1-X
  • Steven Kossak, Jane Casey Singer, Robert Bruce-Gardner: Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet . New York 1998, ISBN 978-0-87099-861-4 (very competent exhibition catalog of the Metropolitan Museum of Art with thangkas from the 11th to 15th centuries)
  • Anjan Chakraverty: Sacred Buddhist Painting . Roli Books Pvt Ltd. 1998, ISBN 978-81-7436-042-7 (short, very popular)
  • Ben Meulenbeld: Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas . Binkey Kok, Havelte 2001; ISBN 90-74597-44-0
  • Hugo E. Kreijer: Tibetan Paintings. The Jucker Collection . 2001, ISBN 978-1-57062-865-8
  • Ben Meulenbeld: Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas: The Story of Siddhartha and Other Buddhas Interpreted in Modern Nepalese Painting . Red Wheel 2001, ISBN 978-90-74597-44-9
  • Thomas Schmuck: Thangkas. Meditation pictures from Tibet . Thangkas from the Infeld collection with a description of 64 scroll paintings. Mauerbach 2002, ISBN 3-85134-026-4 (German, English) (iconographic description of a predominantly Eastern Tibetan collection)
  • Angelika Binczik, Roland Fischer: Hidden treasures from Ladakh / Hidden treasures from Ladakh . Munich 2002, ISBN 3-933529-04-2 (German, English)
  • Robert Beer: The symbols of Tibetan Buddhism . Kreuzlingen, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7205-2477-9 (English edition: The handbook of Tibetan buddhist symbols)
  • Otgonbayar Ershuu : The Gods Printed in Hiimori Printing Co., Ltd. Ulaanbaatar 2004, ISBN 99929-74-07-9
  • Jürgen C Aschoff: Color Symbolism in Tibetan Thangka and Mural Painting / Color Symbolism in Tibetan Thangka and Wall Painting . Fabri 2007, ISBN 978-3-931997-30-4

Web links

Commons : Thangka  - collection of images, videos and audio files