Thangka Painting
Much more than a mere object of aesthetic value, a thangka is a part of practiced religion. Originally painted by lamas or Buddhist priests, over the years, thangkas came to be made by lay painters. They underwent rigorous training in the traditional art, and worked with the guidance of lamas. In India’s northeastern state of Sikkim, Buddhism is a major presence. The thangka is very much a part of Sikkimese Buddhism and it is painted in the traditional Tibetan style.
A thangka, variously spelt as thangka, tangka, thanka, or tanka, is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thangkas are relatively small, comparable in size to a Western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. Most thangkas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. They often have elaborate compositions including many very small figures. A central deity is often surrounded by other identified figures in a symmetrical composition. Narrative scenes are less common, but do appear.

Thangka depicting Vajrabhairava, c. 1740

The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, the world's earliest printed text containing a date of production, AD 868 (British Library)
Thangka serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is The Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra), which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment). The term may sometimes be used of works in other media than painting, including reliefs in metal and woodblock prints. Today printed reproductions at poster size of painted thangka are commonly used for devotional as well as decorative purposes. Many tangkas were produced in sets, though they have often subsequently become separated.
Thangka perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanka image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing "themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities" tangkas hang on or beside altars, and may be hung in the bedrooms or offices of monks and other devotees.

A large thangka hung on a special wall at Gyantse in Tibet in 1938

A painting of the bhavachakra in Sera Monastery, Tibet
Origin of Thangka Painting
Tibetan Buddhist paintings have their origins in early Buddhist paintings that today survive in a few places like the Ajanta Caves and the Mogao Caves in China. These cave paintings are repositories for early Tibetan paintings on cloth. It was here that the thangka form of painting developed alongside Buddhist wall paintings.
The earliest survivals of Tibetan paintings on cloth are in some pieces from the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The "Library Cave" there was a repository of old or worn out manuscripts, paintings, prints, textiles and other items which was sealed off in the 11th century, after several centuries of deposits. Many of the paintings have Tibetan inscriptions or are in a style that can be recognized as Tibetan, as opposed to the dominant Han Chinese style and some pieces reflecting Indian styles. Though they are hard to date, it is thought that these pieces mainly come from a period c. 781–848 during Tang Dynasty rule.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes
Surviving tangkas on cloth certainly from Tibet itself start in the 11th century, after the revival of Buddhism; there are some 20 surviving from this and the 12th century. Such early examples typically have compositions that are already complex, but less so than in later examples.
Tangkas were painted in all the areas where Tibetan Buddhism flourished, which apart from those mentioned already included Mongolia, Ladakh,Sikkim, and parts of Himalayan India in Arunachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, and Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh. It is also practiced in parts of Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva) and Northeast China.

11th or early 12th-century thangka of the Amitābha Buddha, with donor portraits at bottom
Other traditions of Buddhist scroll paintings are not usually covered by the term thangka, although they may have many similarities, and descend from the same origins. An example is Japanese painting, where a number of very early examples survive from the Nara (710-794) and Heian periods (794 to 1185). Most of these are National Treasures of Japan. Raigō-zu developed as one popular genre, showing the Amida Buddha accompanied by bodhisattvas welcoming the souls of the faithful to his Western Paradise. These were, and still are, carried into the house of a person who was near death.
Types of Thangka Paintings
Based on technique and material, tangkas can be grouped by types. Generally, they are divided into two broad categories: those that are painted (Tib.) bris-tan—and those made of silk, either by appliqué or embroidery.

Jina Buddha Ratnasambhava, Central Tibet, Kadampa Monastery, 1150–1225

Wheel of Life, embroidery thangka painting from about 1800, Birmingham Museum of Art
Tangkas are further divided into these more specific categories:
- Painted in colours (tson-tang): (This is the most common type and well known of Thangka paintings)
- Black background (Nagtang)
- Gold Background
- Red Background (mar-tang)
- Appliqué (Tib.) go-tang

18th-century Eastern Tibetan thanka, with the Green Tara (Samaya Tara Yogini) in the center and the Blue, Red, White and Yellow taras in the corners, Rubin Museum of Art

Black Background Thangka painting
Whereas typical tangkas are fairly small, with painted area between about 20 to 50 centimetres high, there are also giant festival tangkas, usually appliqué, and designed to be unrolled against a wall in a monastery for particular religious occasions. These are likely to be wider than they are tall, and may be sixty or more feet across and perhaps twenty or more high. In Bhutan at least these are called thongdrels. There are also larger than average thankas that were designed for altars or display in temples.
Somewhat related are Tibetan tsakli, cards which look like miniature tangkas perhaps up to 15 centimetres high, and often square, usually containing a single figure. These were mostly produced in sets and were usually used in earlier stages of training monks, or as initiation cards or offerings, or to use when constructing temporary mandalas.

Gold Background Thangka Painting

'The Dhyani Buddha Akshobhya', Tibetan thangka, late 13th century, Honolulu Museum of Art. The background consists of multiple images of the Five Dhyani Buddhas.

A Future Buddha Maitreya Flanked by the Eighth Dalai Lama and His Tutor, Appliqué (Tib.) go-tang, 18th century Tibetan appliquéd silk
Thangka Painting Process
Tangkas are painted on cotton or silk. The most common is a loosely woven cotton produced in widths from 40 to 58 cm (16 - 23 inches). While some variations do exist, tangkas wider than 45 cm (17 or 18 inches) frequently have seams in the support. The process of painting a single thangka is very involved, and each thangka takes a long time to complete. First there is the stage of thorough preparation of the canvas. This is followed by the application of foundation line drawings, which are preceded by purification rituals and prayers that the artist needs to perform. Then the artist needs to mix all the paints required (if natural materials, such as minerals, are used). Finally, the painting process can begin, which proceeds in several stages. Each thangka can take anywhere from three months to a year to complete depending on its size and complexity. In Nepal, 24 carat gold is also plated over some parts of Thangkas painting which makes the art a little more expensive.

Monk painting a thangka at the Potala in Lhasa in 1938
The composition of a thangka, as with the majority of Buddhist art, is highly geometric. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears, and various ritual implements are all laid out on a systematic grid of angles and intersecting lines. A skilled thangka artist will generally select from a variety of predesigned items to include in the composition, ranging from alms bowls and animals, to the shape, size, and angle of a figure's eyes, nose, and lips. The process seems very methodical, but often requires deep understanding of the symbolism involved to capture the spirit of it.

Small tsakli, 13-14th century
Thangka often overflow with symbolism and allusion. Because the art is explicitly religious, all symbols and allusions must be in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scripture. The artist must be properly trained and have sufficient religious understanding, knowledge, and background to create an accurate and appropriate thangka.
Nepal
The earliest surviving thangka paintings from Nepal date to about the 14th century AD, but this is probably well after Buddhists and Hindus began to make illustrations of the deities and natural scenes. Historically, Tibetan and Chinese influence in Nepalese paintings is quite evident in Paubhas (Tangkas), and Nepalese styles have been a significant influence on Tibetan art. Paubhas are of two types, the Palas which are illustrative paintings of the deities and the Mandala, which are mystic diagrams paintings of complex test prescribed patterns of circles and square each having specific significance. It was through Nepal that Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into Tibet during reign of Angshuvarma in the seventh century AD. There was therefore a great demand for religious icons and Buddhist manuscripts for newly built monasteries throughout Tibet. A number of Buddhist manuscripts, including Prajnaparamita, were copied in Kathmandu Valley for these monasteries.

Waumha Tara (Green Tara)
After the introduction of paper, palm leaf became less popular, however, it continued to be used until the eighteenth century. Paper manuscripts imitated the oblong shape but were wider than the palm leaves. From the fifteenth century onwards, brighter colours gradually began to appear in Nepalese thangka. Because of the growing importance of the tantric cult, various aspects of Shiva and Shakti were painted in conventional poses. Mahakala, Manjushri, Lokeshwara and other deities were equally popular and so were also frequently represented in thangka paintings of later dates

Central Tibet, Ngor Monastery, circa 1700 Paintings Mineral pigments on cotton cloth From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.77.19.11) South and Southeast Asian Art
Thangka have developed in the northern Himalayan regions among the Lamas. Besides Lamas, Gurung and Tamang communities are also producing Tankas, which provide substantial employment opportunities for many people in the hills. Newari Thankas or paubha have been produced in Kathmandu valley from the 13th century.