Out of the shadows

Under a flashlight the enigmatic beauty of the Fahai frescoes appears in its full glory. When the beam of light is thrown parallel to the frescoes (center), embossed parts of stucco and gold in the artwork are revealed.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Covering 237 square meters in total, the frescoes include 77 figures - not including animals - in nine scenes that amount to either individual or group portraits. The tallest one is 2 meters high and the shortest 50 centimeters high.

A detail Lu never fails to point out to visitors is the white gauze draped across the body of Avalokitesvara, or Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Infinite Compassion, painted on the back wall of the altar. This flimsy, barely-there piece of clothing is made up of little hexagonal flowers, each petal measuring less than one square of a centimeter, composed of eight veins.

"The brush used for this purpose must have no more than three hairs," says Lu, referring to the fluidity and cloudiness of the fabric that would be lost if viewed up close. "Believe it or not, such meticulousness can only be fully appreciated when the viewer is looking at the subject from a distance.

"Thanks to the great virtuosity of the artists, the Fahai frescoes have a suggestion of three-dimensional realism untypical of traditional Chinese painting."