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Bhutanese paintings can be
classified into three categories; those on statues;
wall paintings; and scroll paintings called Thangkas.
Clay statues are entirely painted, while bronzes are
only painted on the face to emphasize the eyes and
details such as mustache.
Wall paintings are found throughout Bhutan. The
technique of the fresco is known; rather, the
surfaces of the inside walls of all the monasteries
and temples are covered with a plaster of earth that
is smoothed and allowed to dry before being painted.
Another technique, which may be specific to Bhutan,
is widely used; a very thin piece of cloth is
applied to the plaster with much care so that it is
almost impossible to detect the cloth unless it
peels off the wall; a special paste made of wheat
flour and pepper powder is used to prevent worms
from eating the cloth.
Numerous scroll paintings, or Thangkas, exist in
Bhutan, but they are not placed on permanent display
in the temples and monasteries. They are kept rolled
in huge boxes in the storerooms of the temples and
are taken out only for special religious occasions.
To make the Thangkas, a damp piece of cotton is
fixed to a wooden frame. A mixture of lime or chalk
and gum is then rubbed on the surface of the cloth
and smoothed. A grid is drawn to help the artist lay
out the composition. Sometimes, he simply presses
the cloth against a xylographic block on which the
design is already engraved. He could also use the
system of the pounce, or spray, pattern, which
consists of a figure printed on paper with pricked
holes through which charcoal is pressed to produce a
dotted pattern. This preliminary sketch disappears
when the colors are applied. While numerous colors
are generally used, some Thangkas have a totally
golden background on which the design is executed in
fine black or red lines. Other Thangkas executed for
special rituals are black with white and red
designs. When a Thangka is finished, it is
surrounded with silk and brocade border of many
colors, which also have symbolic meaning, and two
staves are stitched to the upper and lower borders
for suspension and stretching.
Thangkas are executed in embroidery and appliqué, as
well as painting. Appliqué is used for huge Thangkas
that are hung on the outside walls of temples on
festival days.
The style of paintings has changed generally over
the centuries, but it is very difficult to date
Bhutanese paintings precisely because those on that
are undoubtedly old have been re-painted many times.
In the earliest temples that have kept their
original paintings, like Tamshing in Bumthang
(fifteenth century A.D) the central figure, soberly
drawn, occupies most of the paintings while the
edges are divided into small compartments for the
minor figures. Although in the fifteenth century
Chinese art had already exerted a strong influence
on Tibetan paintings, it does not appear to have
reached Bhutan. However, some examples of this
influence may have disappeared when many early
paintings were repainted much later as a meritorious
act.
Bhutanese paintings always favored, even after the
fifteenth century, a central composition with
adjacent figures, as in the monasteries of Taktsang
(seventeenth century), Tango (seventeenth century)
and Phajoding (eighteenth century). Other artist
used the entire space of the walls or of the cloth
and produced asymmetrical compositions, in which
many figures or scenes occupy the space and the
interest is not focused on one main figure.
Sometimes, the artist would freely illustrate scenes
of a famous person’s life around a central figure.
An example is the illustration of Milarepa’s life in
Paro Dzong. Over the centuries Bhutanese style has
become more and more ornate, with increasingly
lavish use of gold paint and landscape elements
treated after the Chinese manner. Chinese influence,
mixed with earlier influences into a harmonious
Bhutanese blend, can be seen from the seventeenth
century onward. Many of the paintings are inscribed
with the names of the figures represented, which
help to date the works. |
