Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c7.16

c7.16

The wooden panel described above is of a very great interest, for we find in this panel, for the first time, all the distinguishing features of Western Indian school. It is an art of draughtsmanship, and the straight line and angles are preferred. The pointed nose and chin are very prominent, and the distended chest, which is very much exagge-rated in later paintings of Western Indian school, appears. The drawing of the hands is, however, expressive. It is also interesting to note that the protuberance of the farther eyes has not yet reached that conventionalised stage when they do not form part of the face, but seem quite detached. Here, in the three-quarter profile, part of farther cheeks, having eyes with a slight tendency to protrude into space, is noticeable. It is, however, in the delineation of the dancing figures that the painter has achieved great success. The female dancer, with her well proportioned limbs, curved breasts, and narrow hips, reminds the influence of the contemporary sculpture on painting. The rhythmical swaying of the body in dance has been well rendered in the pulsating curves of the dancing figure. Caught in the whirlpool of rhythm, the drummers are also dancing, and the graceful movements of their hands, expressive of rhythm, are well rendered. Considering from every point, this example of Western Indian painting, in its formative period, possesses a vigour of the primitive, and its æsthetic interest lies in the graceful adaptation of the line to the subject it depicts. In this painting, the art of draughtsmanship rises to much higher level than in the later mediocre Jain paintings. Here, the lines have a definite purpose to serve and they never swerve from the correct definition.