Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.33

c19.33

In small paintings by good artists, and particularly in renderings of *jataka* subjects, the figure and features are sufficiently well done to allow even a critical observer to enjoy the work as a whole, as one decorative construction. But in larger paintings it very often happens that the distortion of the features and misproportion of the limbs is painful. Paintings of Buddha are usually carefully and correctly drawn in accordance with the measurements of the canon, but hardly show any appreciation of the physical beauty of the figure.