STORIES FROM THE LIFE AND MEDITATION OF THE BUDDHA

The composition used by the artist in this thanka, in which the image of the historical Buddha appears in the center and in large dimensions, surrounded by figures of smaller size, is very similar to the one seen in the painting cat. no. 6 of this collection.unlike this one, in which the previous lives of Buddha were narrated, here appear, in multiple sequences, scenes of the life of meditation and teaching of the doctrine of Buddha. Most of them appear in architectural contexts, appearing to be exterior spaces of a religious architecture of Chinese origin, where a group of disciples and faithful listen attentively to the words of the master, for which the artist resorts to a theatrical scenography in which architectural elements are inserted in the same landscape background that serves as a nexus to the different scenes. To mark this thematic unity, the artist limits his chromatic palette to the use of the same colors (white, red and ochre-orange) for bodies and clothing, mixing them with greens and blues for landscapes and architectures.The historical Buddha appears in the center seated on a lotus flower in all his majesty, making with his hands the gesture of argumentation or vitarka-mudra, the fundamental theme around which the surrounding scenes revolve, as is customary in the thankas, this one is framed in different silk bands, presenting an excellent state of conservation. From the artist’s style we can conclude that it is a work of Chinese origin, from a late 19th century period. / Extracted from: Isabel CERVERA FERNÁNDEZ: Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta. Asian Art Collection. Granada, 2002.