A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c13.9

c13.9

Mediaeval sculpture, consequently, often arouses a feeling of repulsion, and seldom even attempts to be beautiful. It has, however, undeniable merits. The works of the artists frequently display high technical skill, great mastery over intractable material, and in the larger compositions, especially those of the western caves, bold imagination and a knowledge of the effects of light and shade. The best specimens of the ascetic type are endowed with serene dignity and convey the impression of perfect repose with extraordinary skill. In the modelling, although realistic representation of the muscles is deliberately avoided, the capacity of the artists to give details, if they were so minded, is attested by the hands, which in many cases are shaped with the utmost delicacy and expressiveness. The energy of passion is sometimes rendered with masterly power, and occasionally, but rarely, facial expression is vividly exhibited. The Purī group of the mother and child (Fig. 137) is an almost unique example of a representation of ordinary human sentiment.¹