TibetanThangka paintings, when created properly, 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.

A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka" or "Thanka" (Pronunciation: tänkä [the "a" as in the word "water;" the "g" is silent]) (Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་, Nepal Bhasa:पौभा) is a painted or embroidered Buddhist banner which was hung in a monastery or a family altar and carried by lamas in ceremonial processions. In Tibetan the word 'than' means flat and the suffix 'ka' stands for painting. The Thangka is thus a kind of painting done on flat surface but which can be rolled up when not required for display, sometimes called a scroll-painting. The most common shape of a Thangka is the upright rectangular form.

Originally, thangka painting became popular among traveling monks because the scroll paintings were easily rolled and transported from monastery to monastery. These thangkas, Nepalese thangkas or Tibetan Thangka paintings, served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and Bodhisattva. One popular subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment).

While regarded by some as colorful wall hangings, to Buddhists, these Tibetan religious paintings offer a beauty, believed to be a manifestation of the divine, and are thus visually stimulating.

TibetanThangka paintings, when created properly, 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 the image as a guide, by visualizing “themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities (Lipton, Ragnubs).”

Types of Thangkas

Based on technique and material, thangkas can be grouped by type. Generally, they are divided into two broad categories: those, which are painted (Tib.) bris-tan and those, which are made of silk, either by appliqué or with embroidery.

Thangkas are further divided into these more specific categories:

• Painted in colors (Tib.) tson-tang -- the most common type
• Appliqué (Tib.) go-tang
• Black Background -- meaning gold line on a black background (Tib.) nagtang
• Blockprints -- paper or cloth outlined renderings, by woodcut/woodblock printing
• Embroidery (Tib.) tshim-tang
• Gold Background -- an auspicious treatment, used judiciously for peaceful, long-life deities and fully enlightened buddhas
• Red Background -- literally gold line, but referring to gold line on a vermillion (Tib.) mar-tang

The Process

Painted Thangkas, used as wall hangings, are done on cotton canvas or silk with water soluble pigments, both mineral and organic, tempered with a herb and glue solution - in Western terminology, a distemper technique. The entire process demands great mastery over the drawing and perfect understanding of iconometric principles.

The physical construction of a Tibetan  thangka paintings, 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 scientific, but often requires a very deep understanding of the symbolism of the scene being depicted, in order to capture the essence or spirit of it.

Tibet Thangka are often overflowing 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 in order to create an accurate and appropriate thangka. Lipton and Ragnubs clarify this in Treasures of Tibetan Art:

“[Tibetan] art exemplifies the nirmanakaya, the physical body of Buddha, and also the qualities of the Buddha, perhaps in the form of a deity. Art objects, therefore, must follow rules specified in the Buddhist scriptures regarding proportions, shape, color, stance, hand positions, and attributes in order to personify correctly the Buddha or Deities.”

Tibetan Thanka Paintings come in variety of Categories as Armed Chenrezig Thanka painting , Amitabha Buddha Thanka Paintings , Amitayus Buddha Thangka Paintings ,   Avalokitesvara 1000 Armed Thanka Painting , BajraYogini Thanka Painting, Bhairav Thangka Paintings , Brocade Thanka Painting, Brocade Thangka ,   Buddha Life Thanka Painting , Chenrezig Mandala Thanka Paintings , Green Tara Thangka Painting , Green Tara Mandala Thanka Paintigns , Guru Rinpoche Thanka , Guru Rinpoche Mandala Thangka , KalaChakra Mandala Thanka , Manjushree Thanka Paintings , Manjushree Mandala Paintings , Maya Devi Mandala Thanka ,   Medicine Buddha Thanka Painting , Medicine Buddha Mandala Thanka Paintings , Samanta Bhadra , SamantaBhadra Mandala Thanka , ShakyaMuni ,   Shakyamuni Buddha Mandala Thanka , Shree Yantra Mandala Thangka Paintings , Vajrasatwa , Wheel of Life Thanka Paintign ,   White Tara Thanka ,   White Tara Mandala Thangka Painting.

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