Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c4.27

v1.c4.27

There are no cast shadows in the frescoes: and I believe it is true that in all the pictorial art of Asia cast shadows are never introduced except under the influence and after the example of European painting. But there is in some, if not all, of the frescoes an attempt to produce the illusion of depth and recession, aided by an inconsistent but not unsuccessful perspective in the architecture. See, for instance, the groups in the interiors of the two pavilions (Plate XX) and the detail from one of these scenes reproduced on Plate XXII; a detail in which one can study what is the abiding fascination of Ajanta, the extraordinary beauty of grouped, living, preoccupied forms, here immensely enhanced by the strong, upright lines of the pillars.