Iconographic Sketchbook

c. 1500

Iconographic Sketchbook, c. 1500. Tibet. Ink and watercolor on cotton; overall: 20.3 x 12.7 cm (8 x 5 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Delia E. Holden Fund 1985.191 These rare surviving pages of a practice book have drawings of prominent tantric figures. The line drawing is confident and masterful, with each iconographic element rendered with clarity and precision. The svelte proportions of the figures follow the style of the Khyenri school initiated in the second half of the 15th century by the artist Khyentse Wangchuk (about 1420-1500), known for his elegant and energetic depictions of the fierce manifestations of the enlightened beings. Tibetan thangka painters referred to sketchbooks with drawings that delineate the iconographies—appearance and identifying attributes—of Buddhist figures.