Source:
https://scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/2039009/tibetan-religious-art-finds-new-fans-and-collectors
Culture

Tibetan religious art finds new fans and collectors across China after decades in doldrums

Some older painters decry creeping commercialisation, but rising interest in the minutely detailed works called thangkas has led to a huge increase in their ranks

A student painting a thangka at the Danba Raodan art school in Lhasa. Tibet’s traditional religious art is undergoing a revival, driven in part by Chinese collectors. Photo: AFP

Her eyes riveted to the canvas, Wulan meticulously applies colour to an image of the Buddha, using pigments made of crushed pearls, turquoise and agate.

The 34-year-old is one of dozens of students at a school in Lhasa learning the medieval Tibetan art of thangka – minutely detailed paintings depicting Buddhist figures or symbols, usually on cotton canvas or silk scrolls.