Phurbu Tshering

CHINA, Tibet, Qamdo

Phurbu Tshering was a Tibetan artist born in the valley of Qamdo to an artistic and aristocratic family. He learned to paint from an early age. Studying in depth the New Menri school, he introduced changes to the style and developed his own unique technique; he thus established the Kham school, a style that became the main form of painting seen in Kham.
Katok Situ Chokyi Gyatso proclaimed Phurbu Tshering as the manifestation of the deity Visvakarman and invited him to Katok Monastery in Sichuan. There, he served as the master painter and completed the murals in the main hall, as well as the thangka of the Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava. He was also commissioned by the king of Derge, Tenpa Gyaltsen, to paint the model diagrams for woodblock engravings of the Life of the Buddha, Jataka tales, and the main deities and Dharma protectors of Vajrayana Buddhism. Figure paintings by Phurbu Tshering appear vivid and delicate, within a rigorous composition. His style was highly regarded and set the standard for painting in Kham during his time.