Once Upon a Times: Art of the Himalayan Region

1523 Words4 Pages

Art was largely used to express traditions in the Himalayan region. The use of paintings was vital in reflecting a great deal of narratives as indicated by exhibit ‘Once Upon Many Times’ literary works. Works of art, especially paintings, can also be used to analyze and comprehensively describe a picture of the lifestyle of a people from different times in history from their social organizations, economic life and religious views and practices. Thus, this analytical research paper attempts to compare two works of art of Shantarakshita and scenes of his life in Tibet on cloth from Rubin Museum and Drowa Sangmo picture of the elephant on the facets of color, shape, form, cultural, and historical dimensions as an exemplification of different time and space elements . These two works of art have been derived from the Himalayan region.

Shantarakshita And Scenes Of His Life In Tibet Tibet; Pigments On Cloth; 19Th Century; 35 X 24 represents the Indian monk in his holly monastery. In this painting, the artist has extensively used different colors to differentiate the different items in the painting especially the background and types of housing during this era. The golden temple on the left upper part of the picture signifies mileage in religious orientation and humility as everyone is in the prayer mood judging by their sitting positions. This picture is typical in the sense that the artist painted different people occupying different tables to represent the different levels of holiness in the society. Besides, the use of different colors represents nature, mood, and unity. For instance, green color represents vegetation and nature, while orange color represents the religious robes of the traditional people united by same religious...

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...ical order of religious command. Though political influence varies in the second painting, the sizes of human beings remain the same with the differences represented by the type of dressing, tools used, and means of transport.

In conclusion, picture painting can be used to pass on information about the life of a people. However, every picture is unique in interpretation of the theme reflected. Some paintings have metaphorical meaning and require a critical mind analysis. The use of size and form in art represents themes of time era. Color and proportion are among the strategies used by artists to communicate different messages in painting. This era is characterized by rich traditional-nature relationship in all aspects of life. Authority and hierarchical order plays the role of uniting the people who seem to share common values, norms, and religious inclination.

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