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- Potala Palace in Lhasa
The Art of Tibet
The art of Tibet is almost exclusively devoted to the service of Buddhism and is almost never practised for art�s sake. Tibetan art is representative of the existential character of Mahayana Buddhism known as Tantrayana or Vajrayana (the diamond path or vehicle), which considers its art to be very sacred. However, just because Tibetan art is religious in nature does not mean it is without artistic or aesthetic value. In Tibetan art, sensitivity is almost always conveyed, and the portraiture, although often rigidly stereotyped, shows a great variety of styles rendered in a powerful and realistic manner, particularly in the treatment of facial features, costumes, appendages and backgrounds. Although Tibetan art is usually colourful and pleasant, some subjects can be quite repulsive to the uninitiated. Robert F. Fisher in his article entitled �The Art of Tibet,� published in Art of Arts, Vol. 15, No. 6, sums up this aspect of Tibetan art in the following statement: �Tibetan art often startles the viewer by successfully combining grace and elegance with anger and ferocity, reminding us of the constant coexistence of these extremes both in nature and in our own inherent natures.�
The making of religious art in Tibet serves severa. functions. Its actual commission and production are acts for which one received merit. The more images made, the greater the merit. The painted or sculpted image serves to inspire the faithful to reach a higher level of consciousness and aid them to concentrate their mind so that they can visualize the particular deity during meditational practice. In this way, the image acts as the point of personal contact between the worshipper and the worshipped, and allows for the mental realization of a oneness with the deity. The
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