![]() ![]() **A version of this paper appeared in Orientations 48/3 (May/June 2017) This paper is one facet of a larger, longer term research project undertaken in collaboration with the National Library and Archives of Bhutan that seeks to identify, examine and analyze those individual artists whose creations provide key touchstones to Bhutanese art history. These works constitute the core of this paper, which hopes to offer evidence of the ways Bhutanese art evolved to fit a new nation in 17th century Bhutan, and how resulting works employed Vajrayana Buddhist imagery to reflect a distinctly ‘Bhutanese’ identity and artistic style. ![]() Due to the comparative political and social stability of Bhutan over the centuries, works attributable to Tsang Khenchen and other important artists survive intact to the present. Tsang Khenchen-and the Bhutanese students he trained-constitute a major foundation of what can be termed ‘Bhutanese art’ on a national scale, and this paper analyses the impacts of Tsang Khenchen and his atelier in highlighting important Vajrayana Buddhist rituals, practices, and lineage masters through their artistic output. The study takes as its point of departure one of the foremost artists in Bhutanese history: Tsang Khenchen Palden Gyatso (gtsang mkhan chen dpal ldan rgya mtsho 1610-1684), who arrived in Bhutan in the second half of the 17th century. Drawing on new research, this paper focuses on particular artists who created works for display and use in Bhutanese ritual environments, with special attention paid to objects created in the early post-Zhabdrung era. Yet often these objects carry additional, deeper meanings that can only be understood when we take into account the artists and patrons who contributed to their creation. For initiated viewers, the murals, thangkas and sculptures visible in Vajrayana Buddhist temples and shrines illustrate key rituals, deities, and lineage masters that provide important supports to practice. ![]()
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