Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210)c. 1236–1310 · Study 1987.146

Context from the museum

High-level leaders of Buddhist monastic institutions were frequent portrait subjects of early thangka painting (devotional cloth scrolls) in Central Tibet. The lama (Tibetan monk) on the right founded Taklung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which became an important institutional center of the Kagyu order. He is shown in discourse with his predecessor, whose teacher Gampopa (1079–1153), in turn, is the tiny gray-haired lama centered above them, between the colorful stylized mountain ranges. Their halos, lotus pedestal, and thrones with spitting elephant-trunked crocodiles and rearing griffins elevate them to the level of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Despite their deification, they are still depicted with individualized facial features.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

The Five Cosmic Buddhas in their six-armed forms are aligned at the top.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected overall measurement for Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210) is 39.4 cm wide and 51.4 cm high, equivalent to approximately 15.5 × 20.2 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.77:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.20 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 13.1% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 130.3 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210) in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Gum tempera on sized cotton, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 39.4 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?