Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c12.70

c12.70

The perspective is unscientific, and there is hardly any attempt to reproduce atmospheric tones; the artist was absorbed in the decorative quality of his forms and colour-harmonies, and in the human interest of the scene. He cared only for imitation so far as it was necessary for his scheme. To “the common eye,” accustomed to the striking illusion of modern European painting and photography, this may seem to betray a lack of artistic power. It would be waste of effort to attempt to convince those who require their artistic convictions to be fortified with scientific arguments that in this picture perspective and atmospheric effect are not wanted, just because the artist could do without them. When a perfect system of colour-photography, with the requisite amount of manipulation to reproduce “artistic” effects, provides the public with the cheap illusion it now expects from picture-painters, it may begin to realise that creation, not imitation, is the true aim of art.