Sacred Buddhist Painting/Anjan Chakraverty. 1998, 94 p., plates, $39.
Contents: Foreword. 1. Origin of the Buddha image. 2. Tibetan Buddhist iconography. 3. Classification of thangkas. 4. Technique of thangka painting. 5. The painter's world. 6. The evolution of style.
From the foreword by Dr. Lokesh Chandra: "Dr. Anjan Chakraverty presents in this book the rich and varied tradition of Tibetan scroll-painting for the non-specialist. It is a worthy endeavour by a budding scholar of art history and himself a practising artist. It is a welcome book that will carry the message and methodology of Tibet's visual culture to a wide audience. Dr. Chakraverty chronicles the evolution of this art from Lord Buddha's ministry, relates painting practices of Tibetan artists, surveys major styles of painting over the centuries, defines the iconography of outstanding deities and points out the quintessential meaning of these divine configurations. This book is a window to the shining light and essence of being in the shimmering lines and colours of thangkas. It takes the reader beyond the sphere of phenomena to the volume of sky-like emptiness (shunyata), painted with colours of pure awareness. Transcendental visions in transient colours:
When you see what cannot be seen,
Your mind becomes innately free-reality!"
[Anjan Chakraverty's book include Indian Miniature Painting.]
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