A wonderful late 19th century Tibetan Thangka depicting a portrait of a seated monk. Wearing the robes of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, the individual depicted in this portrait was probably a teacher of the Kadampa order. The painting’s patron, perhaps a disciple of the monk, is seen in the lower left corner, gazing toward the teacher. Sitting before an altar, the patron also wears monk’s robes. The four deities to the right of the altar are especially important within the Kadampa tradition: from left to right we see the goddess or female bodhisattva White Tara, the male bodhisattva Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara, the goddess-bodhisattva Green Tara, and the wrathful buddha Achala. Seated along the top register and down the sides are even more monks. Framed by multicolored rock formations, the pattern is meant to depict the figure seated in a stony grotto.
