Lama A. Govinda - The Artist

Since 1920, after his moving to the island of Capri (Italy), Govinda was painting all his life. His many travels in Europe, Africa, India, Tibet and America are reflected in his art. In 1936 Govinda published in India his work Art and Meditation. In this book he shared his profound insights into an artist’s creative process and explored the similarities between art and spirituality. His main interest was the artist who works from the basis of his enlightenment and sees the world around him with changed eyes. For Lama Govinda, meditation was an art while creating art and enjoying art were acts of meditation, which transcend purely aesthetic values and point to lofty spiritual ideals.
Lama Anagarika Govinda’s paintings have been exhibited at various locations all over the world, including Calcutta (1934), Allahabad and Lucknow (1936), Delhi (1939), Calcutta (1945), Bombay (1946), Basel and Bonn (1977), Stuttgart (1984) and a retrospective exhibition in Konstanz (1996).

Brickyard of Rajagriha, India 1930

Mosque in Kairouan, Tunesia 1926

The Colmahari (Tibet) seen from Ram Tso, 1947