Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.48

c19.48

In times of great artistic expression, we have both the work of men of genius, and that of ordinary workmen. Their work is united by the bond of a common tradition, or means of expression, just as the work of contemporaneous poets is united by a common language and association of ideas. But in eighteenth century Kandyan art we have to deal not with the work of men of individual genius as well as that of ordinary workmen, we have only the work of the latter. The value of the concrete traditional symbolism in this case can hardly be overestimated, a point which those who are acquainted with the extraordinary vulgarity and unsuitability of modern vihāra decoration, often executed by low-country painters who are not hereditary craftsmen, will understand.