A rare silk thangka depicting Bhaisajyaguru, Tibet, 17th century, attributed to Choying Gyatso workshop | 十七世紀 藏傳藥師佛唐卡 絹本設色

Gérard Lévy, Paris.

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Gérard Lévy收藏，巴黎

This golden thangka (Tib. ser tang) is painted on red silk portraying the Medicine Buddha with kneeling attendant bodhisattvas, Shambala Kings, and a Gelukpa hierarch above, with deities from the Bhaishajyaguru mandala below, including Raksha holding a sword and riding a zombie, Varuna holding a snake and riding a makara sea-monster, Yaksha holding a mongoose and riding a horse, and Vayu Deva holding a banner and riding a deer.

A remarkably similar painting depicting the First Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570-1662), with fine line drawing and a minimum of background detail and palette was painted by Choying Gyatso — founder of the New Menri style of Tibetan painting — in the mid-seventeenth century, see David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions, Wein, 1996, p. 232, pl. 45. The paintings of Choying Gyatso are known for their eloquent realism as seen in the animated movement and facial expressions of the attendant figures in his portrait of the Panchen Lama, comparable to the lively depictions of mandala deities in the lower register of the Bhaishajyaguru painting. The simple but exquisite line drawing, cursory background detail and minimal palette of both paintings suggest that this rare thangka of Bhaishajyaguru was also painted at Choying Gyatso’s atelier.

Choying Gyatso was invited to Lhasa by the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) in 1648 to paint murals for the great hall of the White Palace in the newly built Potala. The Gelukpa hierarch in the upper left of this Bhaishajyaguru painting depicts Choying Gyatso’s Lhasa patron who is portrayed with his customary moustache and holding a flower and a long-life vase: compare a portrait of the moustachioed Fifth Dalai Lama holding the same attributes, in Martin Brauen, ed., The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History, Zürich, 2005, p. 81, pl. 48. The inclusion of the Fifth Dalai Lama supports the attribution of the Bhaishajyaguru painting to Choying Gyatso's atelier.

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本幅唐卡繪於紅絹，描繪藥師佛及跪拜隨侍之菩薩、香巴拉國王，畫面上方有格魯派高僧，下方則為藥師佛曼荼羅諸護法神，包括持劍騎屍之羅剎，持蛇騎摩竭海獸之伐樓拿，持貓鼬乘馬之夜叉，及持旗幟乘鹿之風神。

據大衛·傑克遜著《西藏繪畫史：偉大西藏畫家及其傳統》所述，曾有第一世班禪喇嘛羅桑確吉堅贊（1570-1662）之肖像，由新勉派創始人鵬丁·嘉措於十七世紀中葉所繪，其精細之線描、簡約之背景及色調，與此幅藥師佛唐卡頗為相似。鵬丁·嘉措之畫作以其生動寫實之風格著稱，體現於上述唐卡中隨侍人物之動態及表情。本幅藥師佛唐卡下部曼荼羅諸神，亦展現此生動之風格。兩幅畫作皆具簡潔精美之線描、節簡之背景及樸實之色調，顯示此藥師佛唐卡亦可能出自鵬丁·嘉措之畫坊。

鵬丁·嘉措於1648年受五世達賴喇嘛（1617-1682）之邀，前往拉薩為新建布達拉宮白宮大殿繪製壁畫。此藥師佛唐卡左上角之格魯派高僧，即為鵬丁·嘉措之拉薩贊助者。其形象與馬丁·布勞恩編著《達賴喇嘛：視覺歷史》中所描之五世達賴喇嘛相符，手持花卉及長壽瓶，面留八字鬚，見81頁，圖版48。五世達賴喇嘛形象之出現，進一步佐證此藥師佛唐卡為鵬丁·嘉措畫坊之作。