Potala Palace Murals

CHINA, Tibet, Lhasa; 17th–20th century

The murals in Potala Palace represent one of the most significant achievements in Tibetan painting between the 17th and 20th centuries. Covering a total area of 2,500 sq m, the murals are mainly painted in the shrines, entrance halls, and corridors of the palace. They portray historical events, biographies of important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, deities, folklore, and local life.
The oldest mural in Potala is a depiction of Songtsan Gampo (reigned 629–650) and his queens found in Drak Lhalupuk Cave, one of the only parts of the original palace built by Songtsan to escape destruction during warfare in the 7th century. All of the other murals were painted during the reconstruction of the White Palace in 1645 under the Fifth Dalai Lama, or in 1690 during the construction of the Red Palace led by Sangye Gyatso.
Among all the murals in Potala, the most famous images are painted on the walls of the corridors around the two-story Great West Hall of the Red Palace. In the south corridor on the second story, there are illustrated biographies of Sangye Gyatso and the Dalai Lama painted by Sonam Gyalpo. On the right side of the back (west) wall, there is a painting of the Fifth Dalai Lama by Tenzin Norbu. The east and south walls are covered with hundreds of images illustrating the restoration of the palace during the 17th century, including depictions of offerings to the famous mountains and great rivers, builders chiseling rock and chopping trees, boats delivering the building materials, laborers carrying the materials, the stacking of rocks into walls, and laying the beams of the roofs. The inauguration of the palace and the festival of Hanging of the Huge Thangka are also shown. These rare images of Tibetan building practices were painted by artists of the Menri and Khyentse schools.
The biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama is painted on the four walls of the Great West Hall of the Red Palace. On the east wall, the Fifth Dalai Lama is shown traveling to the capital to meet Emperor Shunzhi (reigned 1644–1661) of the Qing dynasty in 1652.
The arrival of Chinese Princess Wencheng in Tibet and her marriage to the Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo in 641 is illustrated on the northeast wall of the entrance hall in the White Palace. One of the scenes shows the princess traveling to Tibet, sitting in a carriage beside a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Images of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama meeting Emperor Guangxu (reigned 1875–1908) and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing dynasty, as well as his exile to India, are found in the shrine housing the stupa of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. When the Thirteenth Dalai Lama visited the emperor in the capital, he brought an artist with him who made observations and then painted these accurate scenes.
In addition to these sets of narrative illustrations, there are also images of daily life and recreation in Tibet, with figures shown farming, practicing equestrian archery, smelting metal, wrestling, dancing, and swimming. Many of the murals are accompanied by explanatory inscriptions, making them a valuable record of Tibetan history and culture. The painting style is similar to that of the murals painted in Sakya Monastery.