Page 18 - Bonhams, Images of Devotion, April 21 2021

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A THANGKA OF SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF MILAREPA
EASTERN TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.68329
108 x 63.5 cm (42 1/2 x 25 in.)

HKD3,200,000 - 4,500,000

藏東 十八世紀 密勒日巴傳記唐卡

“Of Marpa’s four main disciples, it was Milarepa (1040–1123) and the lineages
that grew out of his teachings that have played the most significant role in the
development of the Kagyu tradition. Milarepa is an important figure not simply within
the Kagyu school, but throughout Tibetan society. He represents the romantic ideal
of the search for enlightenment... He is a vivid example that no matter how hard the
road to realization, it can be travelled, and within a single lifetime.”
(Dinwiddie (ed.), Portraits of the Masters, London, 2003, p.144)

The story of Milarepa’s life has a powerful message of transformation. As a young
man, Milarepa engaged in the ‘dark arts’ to inflict pain and suffering on his family
members in revenge for their ill treatment of him. But after realizing the harm caused
by his actions, he turned to the Dharma and sought refuge with the famed Tibetan
teacher, Marpa (1012-97). After a long and painful process, Milarepa transformed
himself, thereafter drawing on his experiences to benefit others.

The open composition of this thangka of Milarepa allows for a fluid reading of
various scenes from the sage’s life story. Seated on a promontory, Milarepa is
surrounded by low undulating fields extending to the foreground, while his back
is framed by an upper section of deep valleys and prominent mountainous crags.
This use of landscape elements to divide the composition is also seen in a well-
published thangka of the same subject in the Folkens Museum Etnografiska in
Stockholm (Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 2000, p.369,
cat.152). However, by contrast, the present example is exceptional for the
dynamic and seemingly spontaneous flow throughout its narrative spaces. Closer
formal comparisons can be drawn with the Palpung style of the late 18th century,
illustrated in an Avadanakalpalata set (Bonhams, New York, 17 March 2014,
lot 34) and an Arhat set (Bonhams, New York, 14 September 2015, lot 28). As
noted by Dr. Pal, the present thangka displays “...a remarkably complex but lyrical
orchestration of animated forms and multiple miniature vignettes in a harmonious
composition” (Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, 2003, p.249).

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