A vibrant palette renders chapters from the lifestory of this important Tibetan Buddhist teacher and founder of the Gelukpa sect, Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357-1419). Sitting upon a landscape packed with some of the most significant chapters in his life, his perfected wisdom is reflected by the sword and sutra that frame him and the vajra and bell he wields in either hand. The composition is one that was certainly created from a block print, as is evidenced by the few misaligned portions of the painting with the printed guide. The artist, however, has paid special attention to small details such as the pages of the text that sits atop the proper-left lotus flower and the incredibly intricate brocade of his robe. The full set of Tashi Lhunpo woodblock prints published in Himalayan Art Resource provide identification for this thangka, as number ten of a fifteen-painting series. The woodblock print series is discussed by Guiseppe Tucci in Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Volume 1, Rome, 1945, p. 418. The three-lobed clouds without shaded recesses in the present example are typical of Tashi Lhunpo's New Menri tradition. These elements are very much like those in another example of this lifestory series at the Rubin Museum of Art (F1996.23.2).
Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 24399.