Italian Version

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.

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.

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