Temple Picture

The imperial summer residence in Chengde, north of Beijing, was built by the Kangxi emperor and later lavishly enlarged by Qianlong. He commissioned the “small Potola” (“putuo zongsheng miao”) to be built between 1767 and 1771; the Lobsang Palden Yeshe (1738–1780), the 6th Panchen Lama, resided here in 1780 on the occasion of the imperial birthday ceremonies. To decorate the palace, court painters produced large paintings in the style of Tibetan wall paintings, but on silk. Of three preserved paintings, two are in the MAK collection, the third in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. One of the pictures shows Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the reformer of Tibetan Buddhism, as its main figure, the other the Panchen Lama himself. Solely the portrait of the Tibetan dignitary is painted in Western style.