Bodhisattva Manjushri is one of the most important cosmic bodhisattva of Mahāyāna Buddhism. He is considered the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. In his right hand he holds a flaming sword that removes the veil of illusion and appearances, and in his left hand he holds a lotus stem which represents study and the resulting knowledge.
Size : 38 X 31,5 cm about
The material is cotton canvas, and the colors are water-soluble pigments, both minerals and organic materials, tempered with a solution of grass and glue.
The material realization of a thangka, as indeed happens for most Buddhist art, is highly geometric in nature. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears and various ritual objects are all placed on a systematic grid of intersecting angles and lines. A good master of thangka generally chooses from a variety of pre-arranged forms, those to be inserted in the composition, on a range ranging from cups for alms, to animals, to the shape, size and angle of eyes, nose and lips of a figure. The procedure appears very scientific, but often requires a very deep knowledge of the symbolism of the scene that is being painted, in order to grasp its essence or spirit.
