Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c4.45

v1.c4.45

on the various profusion of nature, contrasts with the poverty of Greek art in this respect and makes one think of the inexhaustible floral design of China, to which Europe, from the seventeenth century onwards, is in so deep a debt. Yet the design itself is quite different from Chinese design: the rendering of leaf, flower, and fruit is more solid, the disposition more static. In China the same elements would become less material, a breath of wind would seem to move them, creating tender curves and letting in more air and space. Again, the affinities of Ajanta seem more with Europe than with the Far East.