The Unmatched Beauty of Ancient Indian Art
|By- Janvi Merchant|
Indian history is looked upon as the greatest cultural history in the world. This #ThrowbackThursday, I want to introduce you to our ancient Indian art, something which we just remember as a mere chapter in our history books. It is more than that and it deserves to be appreciated.
The Indian art came into existence in the 3rd millennium BC. Art is broadly classified into various genres, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, Theatre, Dance, Poetry any kind of art form at all that gives out an artistic expression. Indian Art depicts the life and customs followed by the people during ancient times. Indian paintings are a classic example of handmade forms of visual art in India. Spanning across the whole Indian subcontinent, Indian art has gone through many changes and has been influenced by several different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam. Even though a huge amount of Indian secular art was discovered, it was primarily made of perishable materials which could not survive, what survived was the medium of stone, the type of clay, the different washes of paint which were used.
Rock art in India (30,000 BCE) includes rock carvings, engravings and paintings from the Stone Age era. The earliest rock carving was discovered by Archibald Carlleyll. This style varied with region and age, a common characteristic feature of this style was a red wash made by a powdered mineral called geru, which is a form of iron oxide. (Hematite). One such historic rock carving site is the Lakhudiyar caves, located on the banks of the river Suyal in Uttarakhand. On the walls of the caves are paintings depicting animals, humans and also tectiforms, created with fingers in black, red and white.
One of the finest examples of rock carving sites in India is the Kailasa temple at Ellora which is considered to be the most spectacular rock monuments in India, carved from a single gigantic rock face. The sheer size and sculptural treatment is breathtakingly beautiful. All the caves at Ellora are worth visiting, Cave No. 16 is the most magnificent and remarkably designed, Built by the kings of Rashtrakuta Dynasty which ruled parts of South India between 8th to 10th century CE. Hindu temples at Ellora represent Mount Kailasa or Kailash, the Himalayan abode of Shiva.
After the emergence of rock art different art forms came into existence such as Indus valley art, Mauryan Art, Buddhist Art, Gupta Art and many more.
Indus Valley Civilisation Art (c.3300 BC – c.1750 BC), despite its widespread use and sophistication, the public took a very little interest in knowing this art form. A number of gold, terracotta, stone figurines of girls is revealed, these figures show some kind of a dance form. The most remarkable piece is the bronze dancing girl of Mohenjo-Daro which shows excellent modelling of the human figure
Mauryan art (c.322 BCE – c.185 BCE) this art form covered a huge area having maximum control on all the sub continents. Mauryan structures are defined by the fine polish given to the stone which is rarely found in later periods. The finest piece in this art form is the large animals surmounting the Pillars of lion capital that signifies a bold and mature art style. The famous detached Lion Capital of Ashoka was adopted as the official Emblem of India after India’s independence.
Then came the era of early modern art Mughal art and paintings were developed in the courts of Mughal emperors during Akbar’s reign between 16th to 19th centuries. The Mughal art is a mix of Persian and Indian elements, the subject matter included themes from Mahabharata, Indian landscapes and sceneries. Abundant use of colours especially the golden colour which was a sign of prosperity which the Mughals adopted increasingly. There are four periods commonly associated with Mughal art, each named for the emperor under whom the art form developed: the Akbar Period, the Jahangir Period, the Shah Jahangir Period, and the Aurangzeb Period.
Rajputana art and paintings: Rajputana art also known as as Rajasthani art that came into existence in the early 16th and 17th century. The Mughals ruled almost all the precise states of Rajasthan due to which Mughal art had a huge reflection and influence on Rajputana art. Main themes included Ramayana, Mahabharata, life of Krishna, landscapes, humans etc. Rajput paintings of India were done on the walls of palaces, inner chambers of the forts, havelis. Colours used were derived from minerals, plant sources, conch shells, precious stones, gold and silver.
The British colonial art had a huge impact on Indian art especially during the mid-19th century. Many old art forms became less wealthy and influential whereas the western art became highly popular and ubiquitous under the British rule. In major cities with many Europeans, the Company style of small paintings became common, created by Indian artists working for European patrons of the East India Company, the style used watercolour to convey soft textures and tones. The British government took over the task of administration of India under the British Raj, the fusion of Indian traditions with European style is evidently noticeable in this fine painting done by Raja Ravi Varma.
I’ve always lived by the quote “Art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us” by Roy Adzak. Creativity takes courage, Indian art in the ancient era is a strong example of what the then artist were quiet capable of and the beauty is beyond comparison. Each and every minor detailing, the tones, the brush strokes, the type of wash, the subtle use of colours, how well the artists have depicted the stories in their painting, medium of art, placement of the subject, each and every detailing is portrayed commendably. Maybe that is why, it is said that our history is priceless!
Comments