TIBET, STYLE OF TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, 18TH CENTURY

The present painting depicts Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug order, at the center of a refuge field, an elaborate composition in which a multitude of deities and teachers of a particular practice are illustrated as a single assembly. Tsongkhapa is seated with his right hand raised to his chest, at the center of which is a diminutive image of Buddha Shakyamuni, and his left hand supports a begging bowl. The field is separated into various tiers, with the incarnations of the Panchen Lama lineage in the sky at the top of the painting. Indian mahasiddhas and panditas can be found in the boughs of the tree above Tsongkhapa, and meditational deities, the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas, the Sixteen Great Arhats, and protector and wealth deities can be found in the branches to his left, right, and below. The Four Guardian Kings float in clouds above the pool at bottom, from which emerges Mount Sumeru and the four continents at bottom right, and figures holding the Seven Jewels of Royalty are found in the rocks in the lower left corner.
The composition of the present painting was originally conceived by Konchog Gyaltsen during the time of the Third Panchen Lama. It was subsequently carved into a woodblock print at Tashi Lhunpo monastery, probably in the eighteenth century, from which numerous paintings, including the present work, were based off of. The inscription running along the bottom is found in the woodblock print, and translates to “Homage to the guru of the system of Kongchog Gyaltsen, this image of the stage of yoga of Lobsang Dorje-chang’s [Tsongkhapa]. May its virtue help all sentient beings attain the level of accomplishment of Lobsang Dorje-chang [Tsongkhapa]!”. Compare the present painting with another directly modeled after the woodblock print, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 74089, as well as a painting in the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art (acc. no. F1997.41.7), illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 571, which deviates only slightly from the woodblock design.