Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c34.12

c34.12

P. 69. *Teaching of drawing in India.* It is stated by Mr. Thurston (Journal of Indian Art, Vol. X., p. 46) that the children of the Gudigars (sandal-wood carvers) “are early taught to draw their beautiful scrollwork and designs on a slate.” It is of the utmost importance that these old methods of training in design should be investigated before it is too late. Indifference on the one hand, and ‘art schools’ on the other, are rapidly sweeping them out of existence. Supposing there to be recognized any excellence in Indian design, one would have thought the first steps taken for the preservation of Indian art would have been to study the methods of Indian designers; but so far from this, those methods have been completely ignored.