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Secondary sourcePainting

The Buddha, gouache painting

A Tibetan-style thangka painting in gouache showing a white, four-armed Buddha seated on a lotus among smaller Buddhas and guardian figures.

A devotional Tibetan-style painting depicting the Buddha in a symbolic, multi-armed form, showing later traditions of imagining him.

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A framed Tibetan-style thangka painting of a central white four-armed Buddha seated on a lotus, surrounded by smaller seated Buddhas in clouds, lotuses, and fierce guardian figures, with a gold brocade border and a blue mount.
The Buddha, gouache painting, Tibetan style. Wellcome Collection.

About this source

What it is

This is a gouache painting in the Tibetan thangka style, held by the Wellcome Collection. It shows a central white, four-armed figure of the Buddha seated on a lotus, surrounded by smaller seated Buddhas among clouds and lotuses, along with fierce guardian figures, all set within a gold brocade border.

Why it matters

This painting is a devotional image made long after the Buddha's lifetime, in a tradition that used detailed symbolic colour, posture and surrounding figures to express different aspects of Buddhist belief. The inclusion of guardian figures alongside peaceful Buddha images shows the range of forms used in this visual tradition to represent protection and spiritual power.

Look closer

  • Why might the central Buddha figure be shown with four arms and in white, rather than in a more ordinary human form?
  • What might the fierce guardian figures be meant to protect or represent?
  • How does this image compare with other depictions of the Buddha you have seen?

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