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Envisioning Lhasa: 17-20th century paintings of Tibet's sacred city

Arthur, Brid Caitrin
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1093-6462
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437525195

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History of Art.
Scattered among the world’s museum and library archives are a curious type of Tibetan art about which little is known: the indigenous paintings of Lhasa. These variegated works display the city’s existing monuments, including the Potala palace, Jokhang temple, the great monastic centers and other recognizable sites from Lhasa valley and beyond, which drew so many monks, pilgrims and visitors over the centuries (themselves featured in the paintings engaged in a variety of activities and significant formal events). As visual images the paintings function in many realms and defy traditional modes of classification. These works are simultaneously representations of the physical world but also abstracted, selective and heavily edited re-imaginings. As distinct and individual artistic expressions, they reveal their makers’ and their patrons’ perceptions and desires about Lhasa, the cultural and spiritual heart of Tibet. These images are puzzling, for not much is known about the specific circumstances that produced them or the purposes they may have fulfilled. Until now, this unique sub-genre has not been studied in depth or collectively on the large-scale. This dissertation is an effort to fill that gap by drawing together dozens of Lhasa paintings for the first time, providing a body of material to be analyzed and explored. This study is divided into two parts. The first two chapters provide an analysis of what is seen is in the Lhasa paintings, their visual program and appearance. I show that, to some extent, this group had conventions of iconography and composition which simultaneously made their subject recognizable while also purposefully distorting and re-envisioning the subject. The last two chapters seek the broader contexts of art history, history and culture in which these works were situated. I show that the Lhasa paintings emerged as a distinct artistic genre in the 18th century, but have as their roots various distinct artistic traditions, including traditional Tibetan portraiture. I also evaluate roles sometimes ascribed to these works, specifically that they function as pilgrimage paraphernalia or as maps. I show that the Lhasa paintings operate outside conventional classifications and that they offer scope for many different readings.
John Huntington (Advisor)
Karl Whittington (Committee Co-Chair)
Julia Andrews (Committee Member)
442 p.
Art History; Asian Studies
Tibet, Lhasa, art history, pilgrimage, maps, painting, city, urban history

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Arthur, B. C. (2015). Envisioning Lhasa: 17-20th century paintings of Tibet's sacred city [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437525195

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Arthur, Brid. Envisioning Lhasa: 17-20th century paintings of Tibet's sacred city. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437525195.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Arthur, Brid. "Envisioning Lhasa: 17-20th century paintings of Tibet's sacred city." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437525195

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1437525195
94
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.