Much of the art made in the Himalayan region is made in the service of spiritual life. Religious establishments—Buddhist, Hindu, Bon, and temples to local gods—together with the nobility were important patrons of art. They commissioned paintings, sculptures, pictorial textiles, and ritual implements as well as costume and architecture in order to benefit the living and the dead, to support religious practices, and to inspire humane conduct.

What kind of art is made?

• Portraits commemorate the legacies of revered teachers.
• Landscapes define episodes in the lives of heroes and heroines.
• Richly colored diagrams and imaginary beings with multiple heads and arms organize teachings from sacred texts into coded images that, in turn, guide the practice of these teachings and the performance of rituals.
• Books, often with illustrations, record the texts.

What are the features of Himalayan art?

• Compositions that give order to a wealth of detail; importance given to the center
• Differences in size to indicate differences in importance
• Coded imagery that signifies complex ideas
• Palette of colors with references to nature and to abstract concepts
• Portraiture as the embodied presence of an individual
• Intentional layering of meaning