A restoration project was recently carried out by professional restorer and conservator of paintings Charlotte Bellizzi on a priceless historical painting representing a young 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

The painting was previously in the possession of the King of Sikkim, a small mountainous region high in the Himalayas, home to the world’s third highest mountain – the Kangchenjunga – nestled between China, Bhutan and Nepal.

The restoration was carried out in India.

The painting is an oil on canvas and represents the enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of five in a ceremony which took place on February 22, 1940, in Lhasa the capital of Tibet.

Born in 1935 from a peasant family, Lhamo Dhondrub was recognised by high lamas at the age of two as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama and of Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, and taken to Lhasa for monastic education to become both the spiritual and political leader of Tibet.

His name was changed to Tenzin Gyatso meaning ‘Ocean of Wisdom’.

The painting portrays the day of his enthronement and, apart from short black and white silent footage, is the only historical testimony of the day.

The painting is signed by the celebrated Indian artist Kanwal Krishna (1910-1993) who is known to have been asked to accompany the British Goodwill Mission to Tibet between1939 and 1940 to paint the enthronement ceremony of the Dalai Lama from real life, making the work both unique and historically important.

The painting is dated ‘5.40 LHASA’ indicating that Kanwal must have spent about three months working on it and is today his most celebrated work. The technique of the painting is highly accomplished, with thick impasto brushstrokes reserved for the highlights.

The image of the painting is usually used in books and on the internet when portraying the Dalai Lama as a child since scarce photographic evidence exists of him in this period.

In the painting the young Dalai Lama is wearing the yellow hat of the Geluk branch of Buddhism of whom he is the leader, as well as rich golden vestments over his red monk robes.

The inquisitive, intelligent look of the sitter who occupies central position in the painting is directed at the viewer, underlying that he is fully aware of his important role.

Through time the painting had accumulated a thick layer of grime and soot from the butter lamps always burning in front of it, and traces of insect deposits and cocoons could be found attached to the paint layer.

The painting had no protective varnish layer, making the restoration intervention even more delicate since dirt was attached directly to the pigments.

Naturally occurring drying cracks could be observed in areas where pigment was heavily diluted with oil, especially in the top part of the painting.

Due to the lack of photos from that time, the painting was used as guidelines for several blockbusters including the scenes portraying the young Dalai Lama being enthroned in the Oscar-winning Seven Years in Tibet by Brad Pitt, as well as in the film Kundun.

Maltese restorer Bellizzi was chosen to carry out this intervention after extensive work in Malta.

Her latest interventions in her home country are the collaborative restoration of the Martyrdom of St Lawrence by Mattia Preti, as well as the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in St John’s Co-Cathedral and the dome of St Catherine Church, both in Valletta.

www.charlottebellizzi.com