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Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c78: Chapter XII: An Outline History of Indian Painting

Vāstu-śāstra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c78

Language
English

Contents

Chapter XII: An Outline History of Indian Painting

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The present writer, being a student of the canons of ancient Indian Architecture—the Vāstuśāstra—in the broad scope of which Sculpture (Iconography) and Painting besides allied subjects of Town-Planning, House Architecture and Palace Architecture (the secular architecture) as well as the Temple architecture (the religious one) along with arts like construction of mechanical contrivances, the Yantras and the construction of house-hold furniture—Śayanāsana, etc., etc. are also included--deems it therefore, necessary to treat this outline history of Indian painting not only from the archaeological standpoint but also from the point of view of innumerable references abounding in the literature, the Kāvya literature. Great and eminent poets like Kālidāsa, Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Śrīharṣa, to mention only a few of them, were great ‘Painters’ in their own way. Their poetic painting shows full grasp of not only different canons of pictorial art but also the technique and conventions of painting as were prevalent in their days. I, therefore, propose to take up this subject from two broad angles, namely, the monuments, i. e., the archaeological evidence and the literature, i. e., the literary references.

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It may be pointed out at the very outset that but for the viewpoint of this synthetic correlation between the monuments of our pictorial heritage on the one hand and the manuals of the art and the references in the literature on the other, we do not claim any original contribution in the study of both these spheres, as a good many savants have written enough on them though not in a way we are doing. Thus the presentation is mine and the material theirs.

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Now the problem is : which to begin first. From the chronological standpoint, both these streams, though may be said as flowing parallel to each other, the contention that literature comes first would not be disputed. Prehistoric, Vedic and primitive Buddhist records are a testimony to an early character of Indian painting both in the literature and the monuments. The paucity of refined and finished specimens of the artistic heritage stand in the way to pass any judgment of the early archaeological evidence. Contrary to this, painting was a highly cultivated art as is evident from an appropriate story, going back to the Epic Age of Indian history. (Uṣā's dream and Citralekhā's skilled attempt at the portraiture of the dream).

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Similarly considerable documentary evidences (cf. Vinaya-Piṭaka etc.) indicate that for some centuries before Christ, painting in India was comparatively advanced from of æsthetic expression. The age of Vātsyāyana is pre-Christian and the celebrated writer of Kāmasūtra is very well acquainted with the art-canons of pictures. Kauṭilya, the greatest diplomat and socio-political thinker of our land was also well acquainted with the art canons. Similarly, the poets like Bhāsa, Kālidāsa, Aśvaghoṣṭa, Bāṇa and Śrīharṣa and famous writers like Varāhamihira, etc., some of whom were pre-Christian and others, though post-Christian belonged to the early and medieval centuries, had also drunk deep in this fascinating art tradition. Side by side with this historical evidence of the earlier character of literary references, an equally early age of the archaeological specimens may also not be doubted. The paucity of archaeological remains going as far back as pre-Christian period is unfortunately standing in our way to make any bold assertion in regard to the pre-Christian early Indian paintings, but nevertheless we can have the satisfaction from the corroborations in literature that the cultivation of this art in shape of beautiful pictures was the time-honoured tradition of ancient India. It is a recognised fact that pictures were a great aid in popular education as well. 'As permanent or temporary decoration, on the floors, on the walls and ceilings of private houses, palaces and temples and on the streets paintings instructed and enlivened the mind of the public. Even religious teachers used painting as the most popular means of communication, that could be understood by the illiterate and the child.' "There is a class of Brahmanical teachers known by the name of Nakha. They make a (Portable) framework upon which they cause to be drawn a variety of pictures depicting scenes of good and evil destinies, of fortunes and misfortunes and causing the labels to be inscribed...."—Kramrisch. What are these Yamapaṭas? They too had this use of popular education. And if Dance and Drama can claim a hoary antiquity for their origin and development, Painting, their beloved and charming sister, must be also as old as their brothers. Drama is called Rūpaka which requires something Rūpya and so as we have already seen (cf. 'Painting and Æsthetics' the IX chapter) that Drama is nothing but a succession of pictures. If there were moving pictures of men and women, divines and mortals, surely there were stationary pictures on some background, it may be the board, the paṭṭa, the cloth the paṭa or the wall, the bhitti. Man being a rational animal, in his progress of civilisation, was sure to adopt the artistic means for the development of culture and refinements alround both in the ways of doing and the ways of thinking. This is the essence and also a meaning of civilisation as well as a pragmatic approach to life from the times immemorial. All this gives us full liberty to begin with any of these two treatments being taken either first or afterwards. For the popular appeal, we therefore propose to take up the pictorial heritage of India from the archaeological stand point first.

Section A: Archaeological Evidence of Early Records of Painting in India

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This evidence from the historical point of view can be divided into two broad groups—pre-Christian and post-Christian.

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**Pre-Christian:**—The former can again be sub-divided into two groups of:

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1. Pre-historic and
2. Historic.

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A. PRE-CHRISTIAN

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1. **Pre-historic:**—Among the pre-historic records, the followings may be mentioned that have come to our notice in the archaeological survey.

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(a) *A group of caves in the Kaimūr range* of Central India in the caves of which there are primitive records of hunting scenes crudely drawn on their walls.

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(b) *Excavation in the Vindhya Hills:*—These provide with the examples of the latter Stone Age. Percy Brown remarks (cf. Indian Painting p. 15) “Near the latter (i. e. Vindhya Hills—writer) were also gathered rubbed specimens of ‘ruddle’ (haematite), together with palettes for grinding down this pigment, in fact several indications of the existence in this locality of a neolithic art-studio”.

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(c) *Another range of hills, east of Mand river near the village of Singhanpur, in Raigarh State, Central Provinces*—illustrate a very good record of an authentic example of early Indian painting. Here a series of caves depict a number of rude drawings, in a red pigment which may be of very remote antiquity. “These drawings depict human beings and animals and are accompanied by what appear to be hieroglyphics.—Brown.

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*Animals* characteristically drawn are: a stag, an elephant and a hare of course with a considerable spirit. A very graphically depicted hunting scene is also here, ‘where a number of people are endeavouring to secure a huge bison’. ‘A similar incident on the same wall evidently depicts a buffalo badly wounded with spears, and staggering in its death agony, surrounded by the exultant hunters’. All these give us a sufficient clue to conclude that the primitive artist ‘had a natural gift for artistic expression, as proved by the facile manner in which he interpreted his ideas by means of these effective haematite brush forms’.

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*(d)* In *caves of Mirzapur*, U. P., are discovered a group of early paintings bearing traces of haematite drawings of a highly interesting nature. Here too hunting scenes are usual features. Chase of wild animals such as rhinoceros and the sambar stagis realistically rendered.

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**2. Historic.**—Among the historic records of painting before pre-Christian period of Indian history in the field of archaeological survey are : The *Jogimara cave-walls* of the Ramgarh Hill in Sirguja in C. P. These frescoes are presumed to have been executed about the first century before Christian era. At first sight they present a somewhat incoherent collection of brush-forms in red and black paint, daubed on the roughly prepared surface of the rock by a very uncultured hand. This unattractive effect proves on closer inspection to have been brought about by a subsequent clumsy restoration of the original work, a crude but well-intentioned effort, which has almost succeeded in obliterating the old design. The scheme includes a series of concentric panels depicting a variety of subjects—architecture, animals and figures—which, although much defaced, are similar in style to the plastic art of the same period. Borders with repeating patterns of fishes, makara and other aquatic monsters enclose these panels, but the story which these paintings appear to illustrate has not as yet been identified’’.

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‘The other rock-cut halls and chambers were originally also adorned with frescoes is more than likely, but the devastating influence of the Indian climate has been responsible for the destruction of these mural painting.’—Indian Painting, p. 17.

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**B. Post-Christian.**—As regards the post-Christian historical records of Indian painting, they simply abound in our classical heritage and may be classified as :

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| 1. | *Buddhist* | )/ | |
| 2. | *Hindu and* | ) | These are, broadly speaking, the religious divi- |
| 3. | *Mohamaden* | ) | sions. |

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The dominent characteristics of all these schools of paintings have been very brilliantly, though succinctly, expounded by an illuminating writer, Percy Brown—vide his ‘Indian Painting’ pp. 8-9—and these are worth reproducing here :

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“The Hindu painting has come to be referred to as Rajput, on account of its association with Rajputana and the Hill Rajputs of Punjab, while the Muhammadan art is referred to as Mughal, as it owed its existence to the encouragement it received from that dynasty. Buddhist and Rajput painting was symbolic in signifying the spiritual life of India ; the dominant note of both was religion, and the chief feature was mysticism. As a contrast to this, Mughal painting was frankly secular, and in character realistic and eclectic.

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The aim of the Buddhist artist was to visualise the ideals of his creed, to illustrate by pictorial parables all the beautiful sentiments of the Buddhist religion. These were designed to appeal to the higher feelings of the spectator, so that, sustained by their supreme charm, the littleness of his own personality vanishes, and he becomes exalted and absorbed. The Buddhist frescoes no doubt attained this object, and by their sheer drillery elevated the individual into the actual realms of the higher beings, thus bringing him to the feet of the Master himself.

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Rajput painting, while aspiring towards the same high ideals, covered a larger field. Apart from its delineation of the great religious dramas of Hinduism, in its domestic character it reflected the beliefs and customs of the common people, thus producing an artistic folklore of unusual interest. Its chief aim, however, was to present the innumerably graphic aspects of their religion to the people in a portable and popular manner, literally, for household use. This resulted in a school of miniature painting, which is an outstanding feature of the pictorial art of India.

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The painting of the Mughal school exhibits the same technical traits as the Rajput art, but is distinguished by a widely different intention. It strives after no spiritual conceptions, but embodies a genuine statement of fact. Some of the illustrative work deals with the mythical, but the Mughal miniatures are, in the main, material. Religion played no part in the artistic productions of this school. It excelled in portraiture, and in this field it subconsciously went beyond the representation of superficial facts, often recording the innermost character of the sitter in a very natural manner.”

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Here in this chapter, however, the universe of discourse being limited, we shall confine ourselves only to the two schools, what are termed by writers as the Buddhist and the Hindu schools, The Rajput paintings, though cannot be regarded as specimens of early Indian painting, they do mirror some of the art-conons of Painting as elaborated in the early, medieval and later medieval treatises of Śilpa, e.g. the Viṣṇudharmottara, of early Christian centuries, Abhilaṣitārtha-Cintāmaṇi of 11th century A. D. and the Śilparatna of 16th century A. D. The subject is vast and present survey, therefore, will take notice of only prominent illustrations in regard to both the early and medieval phases of these two schools. For the sake of completeness, however, a very brief notice of Mughal Painting and the Modern Indian Paintings may also be taken. The post-Christ-ian early phases of Indian painting from archaelogical point of view, are entirely Buddhist.

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**The Buddhist period.**—The purview of this period extends from A. D. 50 to 700 and it was the harbinger of the classical period in the history of Indian Painting. The influence of the New Gospel not only pervaded the entire indigenous country but the whole of the East. “Ceylon, Java, Siam, Burma, Nepal, Khotan, Tibet, Japan and China all testify, by the remains of their magnificent examples of sculpture, painting and architecture to the artistic impulse of the Buddhist creed.”—Brown. “Wherever Buddhism prevailed, skilful religious artists were found”—Taranath. The origin and growth of this school was spontaneous and natural. “Buddhism is essentially graphic—the early history of the cult lends itself to illustration by the brush more than by the pen—and the original traditions were largely pictorial”. Pictorially illuminated scrolls and the temple banners (tangka) of Nepal and Tibet were some of the popular media to spread the gospel of Gautam into distant countries. The spread of Buddhism in China in A. D. 67 and Japan in the 7th century etc., etc., was remarkable not only for the growth of Indian pictorial art there but also attracting people for travellings and pilgrimages in India from these countries, especially from China. Thus this phase is not purely Indian, it is Eastern as a whole. The present dissertation will, however, delimit its purview to the Indian examples of this School which are illustrated on the following three sites :—

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1. Ajanta
2. Sigiriya in Ceylon, and
3. Bagh.

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**Ajanta paintings.**—These paintings are a marvel on earth (one of the eight wonders of the world), the pride of India and the art of supreme perfection alluded to be executed not by ordinary mortals but by humans beings. Ajanta’ss ituation is secluded, beautiful and romantic, calm and quiet with a beautiful environment full of picturesque sites, the most suitable atmosphere for the most exuberant play of creative genius of an artist. And when the artist, in this particular context, happens to be a priest also, the creations are simply superlatively sublime, inspired, devoted and superbly executed. The story of Ajanta paintings is the story of man's endeavour to depict the divine in terms of mundane matters and materials. It is here that we find the service of the Art most purposefully employed. In India the artistic expressions of the race found the glorious manifestation when it was exclusively dedicated at the feet of gods and goddesses. The majestic and marvellous temples, beautiful sculpture and the exquisite images are all rooted in the spiritual craving of the people of Inndia.

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**Situation.**—The rock-out temples of Ajanta are situated about four miles south-west of the small village of Faradpur, which is 35 miles by road from the nearest railway station of Jalgaon on Central Rlys. formerly called G.I.P. in the former dominion of the Nizam of Hyderabad, which is now the Andhra. 'Here in a lonely ravine, excavated in the face of an almost perpendicular scrap of rock, is a series of caves, twenty nine in number and only approached at the present time by a rough jungle path.' 'These excavations sweep round in a curve of fully a semi-circle and are some 100 feet above the small stream which runs at the bottom of the glen'. Apart from the gigantic halls, pillars, statues, sculptured facades, the chief interest lies in the painted frescoes with which the walls are adorned.

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**Groups and periods.**—Though all the caves bear signs of having been originally decorated with paintings, the ravages of time and other vicissitudes have been responsible to obliterate a very large portion of them and now (1910) frescoes are found in only six out of the sixteen caves thus embellished. These are cave Nos. 1, 2, 9, 10, 16 and 17.

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It may be pointed out, however, that these paintings cannot be regarded as the result of a single undertaking. They, therefore, may be said to resolve themselves into a number of distinct groups, representing various styles or periods, and accordingly Percy Brown (Indian Painting, page 30) classifies frescoes of Ajanta as a whole into the following periods of time:

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| (*a*) Cave 9 and 10 | Circa | A. D. 100. |
| (*b*) Pillars in Cave 10 | „ | A. D. 350 (perhaps later) |
| (*c*) Caves 16 and 17 | „ | A. D. 500 |
| (*d*) Caves 1 and 2 | „ | A. D. 626-628. |

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*N. B.* These intervals of time in these periods should not be taken as intervals in painting, is it rather the devastation of the painting itself belonging to these intervals. Hence dearth of painting, as allluded by Taranath, is not convincing to me.

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**Themes.**—The subjects throughout are exclusively Buddhist (except one or two scenes depicting contemporary historical episodes) and are all associated with the *Jātakas*, a collection of stories recording the previous incarnations of the Buddha. "These comprise the most ancient and most complete collection of folklore now existent and are the main themes illustrated by the Buddhist artists all over the East, whether in colour or in stone".—Brown. The following table of these paintings of Ajanta as ranging in the different periods of time will furnish the themes of the art:

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Cave I

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1. Story of Pigeon: Śibijātaka.
2. A palace scene: a lady reclining on a couch.
3. A Bhikṣu at a palace door.
4. A palace scene: continuation of the previous story.
5. A place scene: not identified.
6. Story of serpent: Śaṅkhapāla jātaka.
7. A palace scene: Dancing girls: Mahājanakajātaka (?)
8. Rājā going out to attend the sermon of hermit: Mahājankajātaka (?)
9. A place scene: Rājā going out on horse back: Mahājanaka jātaka (?)
10. Shipwreck: Mahājanakajātaka (?)
11. Lustration and Renunciation: Mahājanakajātaka (?)
12. Four heads on a salver: Story of Amarä Devī (?)
13. Bodhi Sattva: Padma-pāṇi.
14. Temptation of Buddha.
15. A Bodhi Sattva.
16. The Buddha in various attitudes: Miracle of Śrāvastī (?)
17. Offering of lotus flowers to the Bodhi Sattva (Vajra-pāṇi).
18. Story of a serpent king: Cāmpeya jātaka.
19. Frescoe in the right aisle: not identified.
20. A palace scene: not identified.
21. A court scene: Persian embassy (?)
22. A Bacchanalian scene (Khusrau and Śīrin?) and decorative *motifs*.
23. A Bull fight.

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Cave II

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1. Arhats, Kinnaras and other Mythical Beings adoring the Bodhisattva.

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2. Votaries bringing offerings and Adoring the Buddha.
3. Indra and the four Yakṣas
4. Flying figures, floral designs and other artistic motifs.
5. The exile of a lady.
6. The story of the golden goose: Mahāhainsa jātaka.
7. The Yakṣas and Yakṣiṇis.
8. The birth of Buddha.
9. Votaries bringing offerings.
10. " " "
11. Dragons, geese and other decorative motifs.
12. The Buddha in various attitudes.
13. The Bodhi Sattva Maitreya.
14. The Buddha in various attitudes.
15. Cherubs, floral designs and other decorative motifs.
16. The Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara)
17. Votaries bringing offerings.
18. Votaries bringing offerings to the Bodhi Sattva (Padma-pāṇi ?)
19. Hārīti and Pāñcika (?) Sculpture.
20. *Vidhura Paṇḍita: jātaka.*
21. Story of a sea voyage: Pūrṇa Avadāna.
22. Pūrṇa bringing offerings to the Buddha: Pūrṇa Avadāna.
23. A palace scene.
24. A palace scene: A lady kneeling at the feet of a Rājā in an angry mood.
25. A Bodhi Sattva in a teaching attitude.
26. Decorative Designs.
27. Nāgas, Gaṇas and other Mythical beings.

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Cave VI

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1. The Buddha in the teaching attitude—Fitst sermon (?)
2. Dvārapālas and a female votary.
3. Temptation of Buddha.
4. A Bhikṣu
5. Dvārapālas and pairs of male and female figures.
6. Miracle of srāvasti.

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Cave VII

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1. The Buddha in teaching attitude—First sermon (?)
2. The birth of Buddha.

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Cave IX

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1. A Nāga king with his attendants: Jātaka not identified.
2. A group of votaries approaching a stūpa: not identified.

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3. A monastery.
4. Two scenes from the life of the Buddha.
5. The animal Frieza: Mythical herdsman: not identified.
6. The Buddha in various attitudes.

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Cave X

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1. Arrival of a Rājā with his retinue to worship Bodhi Tree: not identified.
2. The royal party worshipping a stūpa: not identified.
3. The royal party passing through a gateway: not identified.
4. The Shyāma: (Sāma) jātaka.
5. The Ṣad-Danta (Chhadanta) jātaka or the story of six tusked elephant.
6. Figures of the Buddha.

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Cave XI

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1. Bodhi Sattva: Padma-pāṇi.
2. Figures of the Buddha and Bodhi-sattva (Avalokiteśvara).

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Cave XVI

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1. Scenes from the life of Buddha: The Tuśita heaven (?)
2. The Suta-soma jātaka or the story of the lioness who fell in love with Sudāsa the king of Benaras.
3. The Demons in front of a monastery: not indentified.
4. The Mahā-ummagga jātaka: The murder of a child and other episodes.
5. The dying princess: The deserted wife of Nanda (?)
6. The conversion of Nanda.
7. Mānuṣī Buddhas.
8. Flying figures (Apsarasas?) and the Buddha in the teaching attitude.
9. The Buddha in the teaching attitude.
10. The elephant procession.
11. The Buddha preaching to the congregation.
12. Scenes from the life of Buddha: offerings to Buddha, visit of king of Magadha and Buddha in the streets of Rāja Gṛha.
13. Scene from the life of Buddha: The first meditation and the four signs.
14. Palace scene.
15. Conception.
16. Scene from the early life of Buddha.

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Cave XVII

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1. Rājā distributing alms: not identified.
2. Palace scene; not identified.

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3. Indra and Apsarasas.
4. The Mānuṣī Buddha and pairs of Yakṣa and Yakṣiṇī.
5. Apsarasas and Gandharvas adoring Buddha.
6. Story of furious elephant Nīlagiri.
7. The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the Buddhist litany.
8. A yakṣa with a female attendant.
9. The royal hunt scene: not identified.
10. The wheel of Saṃsāra (?).
11. The mother and child before Buddha and other Buddhist deities.
12. Buddha preaching to the congregation: First sermon or the Great Miracle (?)
13. Floral designs and other decorative motifs.
14. The Mahākapi jātaka.
15. The Hasti jātaka or the story of benevolent elephant.
16. The bestowal of the royal sword.
17. A court scene: not indentified.
18. The Haṃsa jātaka or the story of Golden Goose.
19. Śardūlas, Apsarasas, and the Buddha in teaching attitude.
20. The Viśvantara or the story of prince devoted to alms-giving.
21. Figures of Yakṣa and Yakṣiṇī and Apsarasas.
22. The Mahākapi jātaka II or the story of the benevolent monkey.
23. The Suta-Soma jātaka or the story of the pious king of Indraprastha prevailing on Sudāsa to give up cannibalism.
24. Buddha preaching in the Tuśīta heaven, with two other scenes.
25. The mother and child before Buddha.
26. The Great miracle of Śrāvastī.
27. The Śarabha jātaka or the story of merciful stag.
28. The Mātṛpoṣaka jātaka (?) or the story of elephant with blind parents.
29. The Matsya jātaka or the story of fish who saved its kinsfolk from certain death.
30. The Shyāma (Sāma) jātaka or the story of young hermit who had blind parents.
31. The Mahiṣa jātaka or the story of benevelont buffalo and mischievious monkey.
32. A Yakṣa or Royal Guard.
33. The Siṅhala Avadāna.
34. A Toilet Scene.
35. The Śibi jātaka or the story of the Rājā who gave his eyes in alms.

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36. The Mṛga jātaka or the story of golden deer.
37. The story of benevolent bear: not identified.
38. The Nyagrodha-mṛga jātaka or the story of a sacred deer who offered himself as a substitute to save the life of a doe.
39. Two dwarfs with musical instruments.
40. Floral designs and other decorative motifs.

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Cave XXI

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1. Lotus creeper and other decorative designs.

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Cave XXII

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1. Buddha preaching to a congregation.

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**Patronage.**—A word on the political patronage and hierichical superintendence of the execution of these paintings may also be said here.

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Taranatha, a Tibetan historian in the seventeenth century, ascribes a great antiquity to these artistic creations. 'He especially alludes to the superlative excellence of the earliest wall paintings, which he attributes to the gods. This work was subsequently carried on by the Yakṣas (Puṇya-yanas) lilerally 'the good people' divinely inspired artists employed by Asoka (250 B. C.) and then by the semi-human Nāgas, under the control of Nāgārjuna (circa A. D. 200). After Nāgārjuna's reign, no regular succession of artists could be traced and hence interval of a long course of years. Later, in time of King Buddhapakṣa (presumably of 5th or 6th century A. D.), the sculpture and painting of the artist Bimbasāra, the founder of the school of Madhyadeśa, 'were specially wonderful and equal in merit to those of gods'.

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The first group of paintings, (*i.e.* cave temples no. 9 and 10) appear to have been executed while the surrounding country was under the rule of a dynasty of Dravadian kings—the Andhras (27 B.C.—A.D. 236) who although professing Brahmanism, put no obstacle in the way of Buddhism. As all these sites were monasteries, it seems probable that there was some co-operation between the ruling dyansties and the monastic orders. A co-operation between the priesthood and the reigning dynasty with regard to the dedication of these monuments, though not ruled out, nevertheless as Percy Brown puts it, "this community of artist-priests produced their paintings oblivious of the tide of political conditions which ebbed and flowed in the country around them. An exclusive and self-contained body of priests, they might have lived and moved in an atmosphere of their own, just as at the present time on the isolated heights of the Himalayas, ancient Buddhist monasteries exist where the priests regard the outer world in the light of another planet, as remote and unknown as the stars.”

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The second group of painting (*i.e.* No. 16-17) coincides with the rise of the Gupta Dynasty (A.D. 320) and the paintings probably mark the stimulus given in all forms of art by the establishment of Samudra Gupta’s vigorous administration. Very little is known of the Vākāṭaka dynasty under whose sway the country around was; it is however surmised there was some alliance between the Guptas and the Vākāṭakas.

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One of the scenes of the third group of paintings is believed to illustrate the Indian King Pulakeṣin II, receiving an embassy from the Persian monarch, Khursu Parviz, which event is presumed to have taken place between A.D. 626 and 628.

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Materials and Technique :—

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(i) **The preparation of the background.**—‘Over the surface of the rough excavated wall of rock a mixture of clay, cowdung, and pulverised trap rock was applied, to the thickness of one-eighth to three-quarters of an inch. Sometimes this first dressing also contained fine-chopped straw or rice husks. This ground was then coated with an exceedingly thin layer of white plaster, about the thickness of, and in some senses resembling, an eggshell. On this polished shell-like surface the frescoes were painted in water-colour.’—Brown

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(ii) **The character of the paintings—whether true frescoes (fresco-buono) or a combination of this method and tempera painting (fresco a secco).**—‘Efforts have also been made to prove that the process was, almost entirely that of tempera. *Fresco buono*, as an art, was practised in Europe before the Christian era, Vitruvius and Pliny, both making fairly detailed references to it. It consists of preparing a plaster ground, and while this is still damp, applying the colour in broad effects. The process is necessarily a rapid one, as the painting must be completed before the plaster has time to dry. Only a certain portion of the work in hand can be undertaken at a time, and only that amount of plaster-surface as can be covered by the artist in the time at his disposal, need be prepared. That which is unpainted at the end of the day is cut away up to the painted part, and relaid the following day or the next occasion on which the artist is ready to continue his painting. It is often possible in the historic frescoes of Europe to distinguish where the joining-up process took place, although it is true that the older plasterers were sufficiently expert to make the joints in the surface so well as to be invisible after hundreds of years, It may be remarked that no system of joining or ‘piece-surface’ is observable in the old Buddhist paintings of India.

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Further, to hold the moisture properly for the purpose of applying the pigments, the layer of plaster should be at least a quarter of an inch thick. This *intonaco*, or final coat, in the Sigirya paintings is a quarter to half an inch thick; at Ajanta it is as thick as an eggshell. One of the earliest paintings, in Cave 9, was executed on a plaster ground one thirty-second of an inch thick, applied directly on the rock and polished like porcelain. In hot climates, this *intonaco* should ordinarily be thicker in order to allow for evaporation due to abnormal drying character of the atmosphere. In the case of the quasi-frescoes of the Etrurians, which date before the Christian era, the dampness of the rock was enough to keep the stucco skin moist, and so allow the necessary infittration of colour from the surface. The coating of plaster on which the Egyptian and Mesopotamian paintings were executed was too thin to have itself to true fresco treatment. The method employed by the artists of these two countries was that of tempera, the same process which, it is suggested, was utilised by the Buddhist painters of India. Tempera, or *fresco secco*, is a method of lime painting on a plaster surface that has been allowed to dry. This dry surface of plaster is thoroughly drenched the night before with water, to which a little lime or baryta water has been added, and the wetting is renewed the next morning.

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On the dampened surface thus obtained the artist makes his painting with the same pigments as used in *fresco-buono*, but mixed with lime or baryta-water, or with a little slacked lime. Compared with true fresco, tempera is heavy and opaque in its results, while, although of great durability, as is exemplified by the ancient Egyption wall paintings, it has not the chemical permanence of the *fresco buono*. The pigment of the *buono* sinks into, and becomes incorporated with, the plaster, and thus forms actually part of the ground composition, while the *secco* can never be anything but a layer of pigment lying on the top of the prepared surface of the wall. There is certainly considerable evidence to show that the early Buddhist mural paintings were not, as a whole, true freso, as this process is ordinarily understood, but it is quite possible that it was a modification of this method, devised and put into practice by artists of the period. On the other hand, the opacity of the colours in some respects as well as their impermanence in others, besides the composition of the prepared ground, tends to support the theory that the so-called frescoes are, after all, mural paintings executed in tempera.”—Brown

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**(iii) Process—the colours and the Brushes.**—“The ground of these ancient paintings having been prepared, the artist then proceeded to sketch out his composition in a bold red line-drawing on the white plaster. Although this first sketch was evidently drawn in by an experienced hand, it was subsequently corrected in many places with a strong black or brown line when the final drawing was added. The system is so similar in this particular respect to the process employed by the early Egyptians that it may be considered identical; in this case also the first red outlines were drawn or traced by the painter, and afterwards checked by the master-artist with a vigorous black line. After the Buddhist painter had drawn out his scheme in red, he proceeded to apply over this a thinnish semi-transparent terraverte monochrome, through which his original outline could be seen. This system of underglazing is very similar to that practised by the Italians in their early fresco work. Over this preliminary glaze, the Indian artist worked in his local colours—reds, yellows, browns and blacks—‘suggestively laid in with solid brush strokes—the flesh not unlike some examples of modern French paintings’. Afterwards came a ‘strengthening of the outlines with blacks and browns, giving great decision, but also a certain flatness; last, a little shading if necessary. There is not very much definite light and shade modelling, but there is great definition, given by the use of contrasting local colour and of emphatic blacks and white’s (Herringham).

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We have no knowledge of the kind of brush that the Buddhist painter used, but the composition of some of his pigments has been ascertained. The true fresco painter is limited in his palette, as the pigments have to be capable of resisting the decomposing action of lime, and must consequently be extracted from natural earths. But it is possible that the Indian artist, like the Egyptian, was allowed a a wider range of colours on account of his particular process appertaining more to the temperate method that of fresco. He was, therefore, able to use purples, pinks, greens, which would have been destroyed by fresh lime. The various shades of red at Ajanta and Bagh are ferruginous in origin, while the green pigment seems to be entirely composed of a finely powdered silicate containing iron. The white is largely sulphate of lime, no zinc, baryta, or lead being detectable. The blue has all the appearance of ultramarine and the yellow is believed to be orpiment, a natural arsenic sulphide.”—Brown

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**Adherence to the art-canons and a general estimation.**—The chief characteristic of the art of Ajanta, lies in its adaptation of line, the Rekhā which the masters, the Āchāryas, praise—Viṣṇudharmottaram. Percy Brown observes: “The art of many countries owes much of its effect to the masterly employment of simple outline. What could be finer than the linear draftsmanship on Greek vases, or the expressive drawing of Holbien; but no art relies more on this quality than the Buddhist frescoes. The painter knew how to qualify and gradate his outline so as to give it every degree of expression. Not only do these frescoes represent his visualisation of a rounded object translated into line, but his actual treatment of this line is so subtle and experienced that by its varying quality and sympathetic utterance it embodies modelling, values, relief, foreshortening and all the essential elements of art. It is doubtful whether any artist has equalled the Buddhist painter in his capacity for analysing the complexities of the human form and then rendering in his picture what is essential by means of a simple line. Strong, confident and emphatic in its meaning, this method of artistic interpretation was utilised with consummate skill, by the painters of this classic age. An excellent example (Mahāhaṁsa-jataka) illustrating this characteristic may be studied in Cave 1 considered to be one of the latest of the excavations. On the left of the shrine is a figure, presumably Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara or possibly illustrating 'The Great Renunciation', where the Prince Siddhārtha departs from his palace previous to seeking Buddhahood. This figure is large—over life lize—stooping slightly and holding in the right hand a blue lotus flower. It is in its expression of sorrow, in its feeling of of profound pity that the great work of art excels; and in studying it the observer realises that he is face to face with a noble being bending under the weight of a tragic decision; the bitterness of renouncing for ever a life of bliss is blended with a yearning sense of hope in the happiness of future.”

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This is one of the most representative of all the frescoes of the Buddhist period. Here the line (Rekhā) and modelling of form, as well as the principles of Kṣaya and Vṛddhi, are all profoundly followed and deeply worked out.

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Not only the form has been well executed; the scheme of colour employed in Ajanta painting is also remarkable, not only from its technique but also from its superb perfection as Brown remarks: ‘Time and other causes have destroyed much of the delicacy of tone and tint once displayed in these paintings, but enough remains to enable a reconstruction to be made of the colour motif, as this may have appeared fifteen hundred years ago. Then the depth and volume of the colour would have been a joy indeed, as the brilliant blues (cf. the V. D.—‘Rājavanta’ blue par excellence—writer) and greens against the dark rich purples appeared in their full strength, and the flesh tints and brightly-hued costumes glowed in the `picture. Low-toned and blackened surfaces alone are all that remain of this once gorgeous effect, and from these indistinct monochromes it is necessary to recreate the original colour scheme.’

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The Vartanā, the delineation of light and shade of the canonical treatises like the V.D. was the rule of these paintings at Ajanta. Representation of group of figures as a light mass against a darker background was the usual practice.

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To illustrate the colour scheme of Ajanta, a typical example may be illustrated from one of the frescoes in Cave No. 17, the subject of which is the *Mahā Hamsa Jātaka*. Brown remarks, “the colour scheme of this fresco is a very charming one, and typical of the Buddhist school at its best”. ‘In this picture the lightly toned figures are grouped against a dark-green atmospheric background, shading almost to black down below. Over this, small objects in broken colour are painted so that the effect though strong is not exaggerated. The lower part of the picture is mainly a scheme of harmonious green, relieved by passages of white and soft red. In its details this fresco is executed in the firm but delicate method of the style, the draperies, jewellery, flowers, and other accessories being most daintly rendered. Apart, however, from its colouring, this picture is a typical example of the Buddhist school in its most dramatic mood’

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Regarding the other canons, enough is the corroboration in the representation of these paintings at Ajanta. This is the treatment of gesture, one of the great achievements of Buddhist artists especially in the expression of action of the hand—what we term as mudrās in Nāṭya and Citra. With this symbolism of hands, the figures are not only full of animation but are made to express a ‘finer language’ of their own. ‘A scene in Cave 1, representing an incident of court-life is remarkable on account of the suggestive actions of the hands. The gift of bestowing actual speech was denied to the painter, but all that goes to form a spoken language is seen in the gestures he gave to his figures. The subtle turn of the wrist, the flexing of a finger, the two hands firmly brought together, the opening of the palm, and innumerable other graceful combinations, all have their meaning, deprecating, affirming or supplicating according to the needs of the story illustrated. Where no actual expression was required the same pleasing treatment is discernible, such as the hand waving a fly whisk, holding a flower, or carrying a vessel, each depicting a refinement of drawing which has rarely been excelled. The hands of the musicians presented an exceptional opportunity for the artist in this connection, a maiden beating time with the karatāl, or cymbal, suggesting a regulative chiming by a play of the fingers that can be clearly felt.’

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Now as regards the other remaining sites only a few words may be added here for want of space and the nature of the treatment of this chapter.

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**Sigiriya in Ceylon.**—The frescoes at Sigiriya are regarded earlier than those at Bagh. The date of these can be determined as subjects denote that they were executed during the reign of Kaśyapa, which lasted from A.D. 479 to 497. ‘They are, therefore, contemporary with Caves 16 and 17 at Ajanta, some of the scenes of which bear a resemblance to the Ceylon example. They are contained in two irregular rock-cut chambers, and comprise a series of representations of some twenty females, three-quarter-length figures, arranged singly and in couples, in the latter case apparently a royal mistress and her maid. They are not presumed to have any religious significance, and the Buddhist opinion is that they are portraits of King Kasyapaś queens. The pose of these figures is singularly graceful, while the actual brushwork indicates a considerable knowledge of modelling and technique. On the whole, while these examples do not exhibit quite the skill of the best work at Ajanta, they are nevertheless very charming works of art.’—Brown

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‘In draftsmanship general'y the Sigiriya fresco is freer and loser than the Ajanta work, but denotes the same masterly knowledge. The line is an equally impressive and confident sweep of brush, but has been applied with an *abandon* that is startling in its impulsiveness. The entire scheme proclaims the work of an artist of strong individuality, especially in the boldness of the handling. In the modelling of the figures, this is particularly noticeable, the brushwork being as spontaneous as the chisel marks on sculpture’.—ibid.

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**Bagh**—‘With regard to the paintings at Bagh, no inscriptions or similar data are available to indicate their age, nor is there any information as to the history of this territory during the period these are supposed to have been executed. In a straight line these caves are but a hundred and fifty miles from Ajanta, but as the great Narbada river runs between, it is more than probable they came under the sway of a different ruler, who, however, is unknown. But the frescoes in these excavations bear no little resemblance to the work in the later caves at Ajanta so that they may be referred to the sixth or seventh century. It is possible, however, that the painting is not all of one period, but so much of it is destroyed that this is difficult to determine. Originally this group of caves contained a very extensive and important collection of paintings, one of the largest of the excavations, a hall of over 90 feet square, having the roof, walls and columns covered with frescoes; but now only crumbling fragments remain. The subjects are not entirely of a religious order, the majority of them being of secular nature but nevertheless they are associated with some aspect of the Buddhist ritual. For instance, one scene clearly identifiable, illustrates a performance of the *hallisaka*, a musical drama which is being enacted with considerable freedom. The licence generally displayed in the paintings of this group suggests a popular phase of Buddhism, which that religion apparently tolerated in India during the period of its decline'.

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**Hindu period.**—The survey of this period from the point of view of the present dissertation will mainly confine itself to literary sources--the subject matter of the II section. Here only a very brief notice may be taken of the pictorial heritage as handed down in the medieval period A. D. 700 to 1600. These consist of the several paintings on palm leaves of probably the twelveth century from Bengal; some Jain book illustrations from the fifteenth century; remains of Brahmanical frescoes at Ellora which may also be of the 12th century or earlier and few other miscellaneous fragments of the earlier medieval and medieval period on the one hand and the Rajaputa paintings of the later medieva period on the other.

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The earliest example of the Jain style is to be found in the palm leaf MS. of the Niśītha Curṇi in the Jain Bhaṇdār at Pātan, written in the A. D. 1100 in the reign of Siddharāja Jaysimha. The first period of palm-leaf MSS. lasted from A. D. 1100 to 1400, and from this period have come to us the illustrated MSS. of the Aṅgasūtra, Triṣaṣṭi śalākā-puruṣa-carita, Srī-Neminātha-carita, Śrāvaka-pratikramaṇa-curṇi, etc. In the school period lasting from 1400 to 1500 the illustrated MSS. of Kalpasūtra and Kālakāchārya-kathā and Siddha-Haima were painted.

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With the introduction of paper for writing and painting the new era of illustrated Jain MSS. came into being. Innumerable copies of the Kalpasūtra and kālakācārya kathā were produced in the 15th and 16th centuries besides these Jain MSS. illustrated, MSS. on Hindu erotic as Vasanta-vilāśa and Rati-rahasya, also a few copies of Bālagopālastuti and Durgā-saptaśati were produced.

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In these manuscripts drawings are in oblong panels. The outline is picked in red, and the colours employed are gold, yellow, black, white, red, blue, green and pink. In draftsmanship no attempt is made at round the line, angularity prevails everywhere, and the connection of representing an eye protruding in empty space is followed.

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Paucity of historical remains may be explained in over-exuberance of this art in Ajanta and sister arts like sculpture and architecture had to be attended now. 'The sculptural triumphs of this age, when reformed religion of Hinduism was the motive power, are to be seen in the great monuments of Elephanta, Ellora and Borobunder in Java. But of painting contemporary with these splendid examples records are extremely rare'.—Brown

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The art, however, did not die out. It simply moved to the border countries the two adjacent countries of Eastern Turkistan and Tibet. Khotan in Eastern Turkistan and Tibet bear a testimony of the cultivation of this art which is decidedly on the pattern of Ajanta. The explorations of Stein and Le Cog have simply marvelled the world with their findings, having a direct bearing on the progress of Asian art during this period. The frescoes and the painted banners (the prototype of the temple banners of Tibet) of Khotan as well as the pictorial evidences in Tibet where the walls of the monasteries and temples are largely decorated with frescoes illustrating various aspects of Buddhist religion and their temple banners what are termed as tangakas which 'are also fresco paintings in a sense, being tempera paintings on canvas, the ground being prepared on the same principle as that employed in mural art'.—Brown

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'In Khotan, therefore, at an early date, and in Tibet at a later period, it may be possible to discern in the wall frescos and pictorial scrolls the course that Indian painting pursued during this medieval period. The process of time, in the case of Tibet, has transformed and conventionalised the art, but nevertheless there are evidences that it owed much of its character to the influence of the original Indian Buddhist school of painting'.—ibid

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**Rajaputa paintings.**—Rajaputa school and Mugal school of Indian painting run parallel to each other. They rose in the same period 1550, while the former continued till 1900, the latter died out a century before with the downfall of the Mughal power and prestige.

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Rajputa Painting, is essentially Hindu in expression, and in many aspects demonstrates that it is the indigenous art of India, a direct descendant of the classic frescoes of Ajanta with a different urge and a new order of things consequent upon the disappearance of Buddhism and revival of Hinduism. This was the change in faith and practiceand naturally therefore increased interest in mythological literature, the dramatic nature of temple processions, feasts and festivals —all served to stimulate the aesthetic sense of people as is evident from the emergence of new trends and developments in the realm of sculpture and architecture. Percy Brown puts it very lucidly: “But the trend of this artistic feeling found its chief expression in the field of industrial arts, sculpture and architecture, rather than in that of painting. The manufacture and embellishment of the many varieties of ceremonial implements and utensils, the innumerable attributes and accessories of the gods, the temple fittings and furniture, all provided steady and constant employment to the hosts of artisans who flourished during this period. Architecture also received a substantial impetus, as in course of time the two great sets of Vishnu and Shiva gradually evolved, and temples to these religious systems were being raised in all parts of the country. These buildings were lavishly adorned with the most elaborate sculptures, representing human and superhuman forms. The new theology brought with it the worship of a personal god, and a development of anthropomorphism which is reflected in every aspect of the life of the people. Painted pictures, which largely sufficed for the simpler ritual of the Buddhists, did not satisfy the craving of the Hindus for an actual ‘graven image’— a realistic embodiment of their chosen deity. As a consequence, the plastic arts predominted, while painting proportionately declined. Nevertheless that natural conservatism, which is one of the characteristics of the Indian people, was a means of protecting the pictorial art in certain localities, and there are proofs that the traditions of painting were maintained, although somewhat indistinctly during these long years of religious reconstruction. Transforming influences were at work, but the original handicraft still lived, and was carried on in spite of the spiritual and political changes to which the whole country was subjected. And this is the art which eventually emerges out of the darkness of the Middle Age.”

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Thus in the extensive tract of country corresponding to Rajaputana, painting was a handicraft and Jayapura, one of the leading States of Rajaputa confideracy became a centre of Rajaputa Art. ‘What has been designated the Rajasthani style of Rajaputa painting known to Indian painters as the *Jeypore Kalm*, and this work has a special character of its own’. From Jayapur and other cities of Rajaputana, the painter-artists eventually gravitated to the vicinty of Mughal court and the capitals like Delhi, Agra, Lahore became the centre of their creative activities.'

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