Xizang painting art has long drawn upon a wide array of artistic influences from China's Central Plains, as well as from ancient India, Nepāla, Kashmir, and other neighboring regions. Over time, distinct local schools such as Qigang and Khyentse emerged. By the mid-15th century, Menla Dondrup, a disciple of Duoba Zhaxi Jiebu, synthesized and innovated upon the artistic elements of various traditions. He broke away from conventional compositional rules and color schemes, introducing a green-blue palette and incorporating natural landscapes from the Central Plains, such as mountains and rivers, into the backgrounds of thangka paintings. This marked an aesthetic shift from serene transcendence to ornate realism. The resulting Mentang School came to be known for figures rendered with gentler, more compassionate expressions, spatial arrangements that are open and free-flowing, and a distinctive regional style.
Menla Dondrup was born in the early 15th century in Mendang Village, Lhozhag Town, Lhozhag County, in what is today Shannon Prefecture. As an adult, he traveled to Xigaze area where he studied painting under Duoba Zhaxi Jiebu. By the mid-15th century, Menla Dondrup had accepted numerous disciples, authored theoretical texts, and established the Mentang School, one of the most influential schools in the history of Xizang painting.
According to The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Garland: A Biography of the Omniscient Gedun Drupa by Yeshe Zimo (15th century), Menla Dondrup painted murals at Tashilhunpo Monastery for the first time in 1458. The Biography of the Fourth Red Hat Karmapa also records that in 1504, Menla Dondrup and his disciples created murals at Yangpachen Monastery. These sources suggest that Menla Dondrup was born in the early 15th century and was a contemporary of the Sakya master Panchen Shakya Chokden.
From the mid-15th century onward, the Mentang School rose to become one of the most influential and flourishing mainstream painting schools in Xizang art history. Its artistic impact transcended regional and sectarian boundaries, and the school's legacy was widely transmitted and celebrated. The murals and thangkas produced by Mentang artists vividly exemplify their outstanding artistic achievements and enduring vitality.