The History/Culture Behind Tibetan Wall Paintings

Tibetan wall paintings, which most historians agree began as simplistic rock paintings of animals and birds similar to those found in many other regions of the world, transformed completely with the advent of Buddism.
Since this transformation, Tibetan wall paintings, take a variety of forms and thus can be single works of art like those seen on the left (which appear courtesy of Maciej Wojtkowiak) or expansive rooms/walls full of many smaller individual images similar to the room seen on the preceding page.
One interesting facet of Tibetan wall paintings is that because a majority of these works of art contain images of the Buddha and also appear in monasteries, these elaborate murals are typically treated with a greater amount of reverence than other religious murals which may simply be viewed as works of art, and not divine images of a culture's religious figure.

According to Itourstibet, a travel agency designed for photographers interested in Tibetan art, Tibetan wall paintings typically contain a mixture of rich content combining Tibet's religion, politics, history, economy, culture, and social life.
These murals tend to use cold and dark colors (although there are always exceptions to such rules) such as black, dark blue, mauve, dark grey, brown, and white. They also tend to be drawn with especially plain lines; simple, rough and sparse outlines filled with the aforementioned colors.