Oldal 336 [336]
MARIA-KATHARINA LANG — TSETSENTSOLMON BAATARNARAN
16" century under Altan Khan (1507-1582). The most prominent figure in respect
to Mongolian Buddhist art of the past is Dsanabadsar (1635-1723) with his “School
of Dsanabadsar.” Recent researches on his art works and writings record that Dsan¬
abadsar was not only a Geluk protagonist but had an open and inclusive approach and
vision in term of Buddhist sectarian traditions.” After his return from Tibet in 1651,
Dsanabadsar developed pure masterpieces, following strict the iconographic rules
but yet specific and unique in their depiction and aura. Buddhist images spread in
Mongolia by prints, paintings and sculptures — here as well following iconographic
models. Monasteries were the centres of art production and monks the artists — in
most cases the works were anonymous and not signed by the artist monks. Based
on the techniques of Buddhist thangka paintings a very specific style developed in
the capital Ikh Khtiree (Mong. Yeke kiiriy-e, modern Ulaanbaatar). By 1900, about
40 master artists were working in Ikh Khiiree and their specific style became known
as Urga style (Khüree deg). Taking Nyam-Osoriin Tsültem’s argument on a school
model of the Mongolian Buddhist art, Tstiltemin Uranchimeg describes that “the
style, colour spectrum and combinations, and high quality overall can be seen as
hallmarks of a particular monastic site, the so-called school of the Ikh Khüree.""
In the 19" century and the turn to the 20" century Buddhist imagery was widely
spread in Mongolia inside monasteries, temples and yurts. One can only imagine
the perception of the people for whom this world of images did not constitute art in
the western sense but venerated objects of worship as part of their (daily) lives with
multiple of enlivened deities.
This paper examines the ways of (re-)creating Buddhist art in Mongolia and its
transformation in different social-political situations. It further discusses how Bud¬
dhist art was secularised and nationalised as basis of the Mongol Dsurag painting
style in the socialist time, and flourished separate from secular art within the Buddhist
revival after the 1990s. Furthermore, Mongol Dsurag as a new cultural construct
inherited from the socialist time has been (re-)nationalised and institutionalised after
the collapse of the communist system. However, it has also been diffused with variety
of contemporary techniques and styles in the last decades.
Modernisation, Suppression and Education
With the ‘People’s revolution’ of 1921 in Mongolia and the following process of
modernisation and secularisation of society, a complete turn in the official arts with
2 Uranchimeg, Tsiiltemin: Buddhist Archaeology in Mongolia: Zanabazar and the Geluk Diaspora be¬
yond. In: Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review (e-journal) 31 (2019), 7-32. https://
cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-3 1/uranchimeg.
Atwood, Christopher: Encyclopaedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. Facts on File Inc, New
York. 2004, 52-53.
Uranchimeg, Tsiiltemin: Introduction to Buddhist Art of Mongolia: Cross-Cultural Connections, Dis¬
coveries, and Interpretations. In: Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review (e-journal),
31 (2019), 1-6. http://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-3 1/introduction.
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