Sacred art
Chinese artist Norbu Sithar reveals the beauty of Tibetan Buddhist thangka
Numerous visitors gathered at the Drepung monastery to pray to a giant painting of the Buddha during the Shoton Festival last week, yet only a few of them were aware of the story behind this huge artwork, known in Tibetan as thangka. One of the most outstanding Tibetan art forms, thangka can be traced back to about 1,400 years ago. According to local stories it was invented by Songtsan Gampo, the king of the Tubo Dynasty (618-842).
According to the local legend, King Songtsan Gampo painted the very first thangka with the blood from a nosebleed he got after receiving divine inspiration from a god. The deity he depicted in this thangka was Pal Lhamo, a white goddess in Tibetan art.
Eco-friendly art
Thangkas are Tibetan Buddhist paintings on cotton or silk. Thangkas meant to be hung up are sometimes framed with silk.
For thangkas meant to be used for religious activities a consecration ceremony is often held to bless them. Additionally, it is also necessary for a lama to place a handprint on the back of a thangka using cinnabar.
“Thangka is not just a painting, it contains the deep meaning of Tibetan Buddhist theory and Tibetan art,” Norbu Sithar, dean of the Tibet Thangka Painting Academy in Lhasa and a national-level cultural inheritor of traditional Tibetan thangka, told the Global Times.
Some of Norbu Sithar’s works are on display at the academy to show the process of how a thangka is made.
The making of the pigments used for paint is one of the more interesting parts of the process.
“The pigments come from mineral and plants; it’s all from nature,” Norbu Sithar said, noting that the pigments used to paint thangkas are all environment friendly.
“With natural pigments, colors can last for a long time, like a hundred years. And the colors are not too bright but mild and elegant,” Norbu Sithar noted.
Showcased in glass cases along the main hall of the academy are all the materials one needs to finish a thangka. According to Norbu Sithar, painting thangka is more complicated than other paintings as it requires special brush pens of various sizes and a special type of polished cotton.
“The polishing is to make the cotton smoother and easier to paint on,” Norbu Sithar explained.
Thangka painting also requires that outlining happen twice.
“Some colors like waves or the sun can be added first, but then artists have to re-outline the Buddha and some highlighted figures,” Norbu Sithar told the Global Times pointing to a half-finished thangka on a wall, then going on to emphasize that creating a thangka is not just a way of depicting beauty, but also a way of showing respect to Buddhism.
‘Just an artist’
“Painting experience is not necessary to be a student here,” Norbu Sithar noted while showing off a classroom. “But the Tibetan language is a basic requirement for students to learn while here, since they have to read sutras and follow the regulations in the text.”
To Norbu Sithar, Thangka art is more restrictive than other forms of art since the painting has to adhere to certain sutras and “the tradition cannot be broken.”
Despite these limitations, artists still have the opportunity to show off their talent.
“Look at these cranes and flowers,” Norbu Sithar said, pointing to one thangka where tiny but delicate decorative patterns were painted using fine lines.
Students who graduate from the academy are able to complete thangka paintings on their own. According to Norbu Sithar’s experience teaching students, training takes at least two years.
Going upstairs to the second floor, student studios are divided into those for freshman and senior students. The long chairs for freshman students are much lower than those for seniors.
“Freshman students must sit on their kneels to draw, while senior students can sit cross-legged,” Norbu noted. “The different postures are associated with the different skills they need to practice.”
Considering Tibetan Buddhist art is divided into many schools some artists may feel limited to a certain style. However, this is not the case for Norbu Sithar.
“I teach art itself, no matter what school it belongs to,” Norbu Sithar answered with a smile. “I prefer Gelug pa, but I can paint thangkas from any school. That is what we call an artist, and it is my job.”
To Norbu Sithar, thangka painting is a pure art form that needs to be learned, developed and inherited. “Thousands of students have graduated from here. Some have opened their own schools teaching thangka art,” Norbu Sithar said, voice filled with pride.
Norbu Sithar is also proud of his school’s efforts to bring this amazing art form to a broader audience, but he himself remains humble.
“Some of my works were selected to be exhibited at the Palace Museum in Beijing. But when more people learned about me and asked to buy some of my work, I turned them down,” Norbu Sithar said.
“I am just an artist, and this is all I want.”