A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c14.s2.102

c14.s2.102

towards unity, towards the conception of a subject as a synthetic whole. Their compositions are crowded and incoherent. In details and in single groups and forms, on the other hand, there is grace, dignity and character. . . . What is lacking in the Ajanṭā paintings, what is so signally manifest in Chinese painting throughout its history, is that powerful creative instinct and aesthetic perception which make for synthetic unity in art, that sense of controlling rhythm and balance which inspires all fine design.’¹