Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.43

c19.43

It must not be supposed, however, that tradition, by its very nature, fetters the expression and production of great art; on the contrary it enables the great artists to speak in a language understood of the people, and without that necessity for explanation which reduces the value of more individualistic art; and the existence of an art language is no more a fetter to the true artist, than the existence of a word language is to the true poet. And what did tradition mean to the lesser craftsmen, for whom art was but a craft? It gave them a conception so defined as to avoid all danger of the sacred subjects being treated absurdly or irreverently. How well this aim was attained is shown by the vulgarity and stupidity that do appear in Indian art, where the tradition is rudely and contemptuously broken with. But while the tradition lasted, it saved the man of small capacity from his own folly, and made it possible for him to work acceptably within its limits.