Rikharwa Pelden Lodro Zangpo

CHINA, Tibet, Shigatse

Rikharwa Pelden Lodro Zangpo was a 16th century Tibetan painter. He studied the five major sciences at a young age before taking an interest in art and becoming proficient in the painting style of the Mentang school.
It was recorded in the biography of the Second Dalai Lama that Pelden Lodro Zangpo was commissioned to paint the mural in the central hall of Chokorgyel Monastery, a task he single-handedly completed and after which he was honored with the titles of Master Painter and “Manifestation of Visvakarman.” The biography of the Third Dalai Lama documents that he was an exceptional painter, as well as the writer of the Sizes of Buddhist Figures from Mahayana and Vajrayana Scriptures. The treatise discusses the theory of craft and documents his personal experiences. Works of art by Pelden Lodro Zangpo include several mandalas, as well as the clay sculptures, thangkas, and murals he produced at Drepung Monastery. In addition, he was known to have nurtured many talented disciples.