Namkha Tashi

CHINA, Tibet, Lhoka

Namkha Tashi began studying the five major sciences at a young age and learned painting under various teachers. Greatly influenced by Konchok Pelden, a master of the Mentang school, he learned to draw figures by studying ancient Indian sculptures. He also imitated the set of scrolls given to the Fifth Karmapa by Emperor Yongle (reigned 1402–1424) of the Ming dynasty, as well as the Chinese-style Sixteen Arhats in Yerpa Monastery in Lhasa. He intermixed the traditional Menri style with the characteristics of Indian figures and paintings of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), which ultimately led him to establish the Karma Gadri school.
The figures Namkha Tashi painted were elegant, solemn, and vivid. His line drawings were concise, and his landscapes featured a repeated wash in the background which achieved a pale and diluted appearance. A mural of the Sixteen Arhats in the assembly hall of Densatil Monastery in Lhoka is his most representative work.