"The Thirty-five Confession Buddhas" in the Buryat traditional painting

Abstract

The article analyses one of the fundamental compositions of the Himalayan and Tibetan art "Thirtyfive Confession Buddhas". The author outlines two traditions to explain the Thirty-five Confession Buddhas based on the Yogachara and Madhyamaka philosophical systems of Mahayana Buddhism. In the article three different iconographic systems for depicting the individual Thirty-five Confession Buddhas are considered. The author analyses iconography of some buddhist thang-ka «Thirty-five Confession Buddhas» of the second half of XIX century from the collections of The Museum of the History of Buryatia named after M. N. Khangalov, the Fine Arts Museum of Irkutsk named after V. P. Sukachev and The Irkutsk Regional Studies Museum. The article pays special attention to the composition, symbolic signs, colour of icons, manner of painting. The article concludes that it is necessary to preserve cultural traditions and support their development in contemporary art.

Keywords:

Tibet, Buryatia, buddhism, thang-ka painting, tradition, Thirty-five Confession Buddhas