Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s23: A Bull-Fight

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s23

Language: English

A Bull-Fight

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*The subject is painted on the capital of the second pillar from the top left corner of the hall, and is reproduced in monochrome.*

THE artists of Ajanta have shown great fondness for painting animal life, and the present subject is a good example of their skill in this line. We notice two bulls engaged in a close fight; the postures of both are identical, and the delineation of their bodies is full of force; the lowered heads, the contracted muscles and raised tails all conveying tense fury. The curves of the necks, humps, and tails are very vigorous, while the fine brush-lines indicating the wrinkles of the skin of the necks and forelegs are extremely pleasing. The subject is most spirited, and its technique shows that the artist understood modelling.

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The representation of two bulls engaged in combat is also to be seen in a cave at Bhāja,² but the treatment is not so realistic as here.³ A bull-fight is also painted in the Maḥall-i-Khaṣṣ, Fatehpur Sikrī, and although it is a thousand years later than its prototype at Ajanta it lacks the force of expression of the latter.⁴ the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Constantine are thus represented as the immediate consequences of his conversion. But the historian, who must be content with the evidence of the times, will not be easily persuaded that the zeal of Constantine was not stimulated by the hope of political advantage, or that the conversion of the empire was not the result of a long and gradual process of change.

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² Fergusson's *Cave Temples of India*, p. 519, Plate XCVI.

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³ In the Louvre are fragments of sculpture from a Doric temple at Assos in the Troad, erected in the fifth or sixth century B.C., in which are shown two bulls, engaged in fighting, similar to the painting at Ajanta, vide Griffith's *Ajanta Paintings*.

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⁴ Ibid., fig. 87.

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The conversion of Constantine is a subject which has been discussed with great warmth by the historians of the church, and it is not surprising that their opinions should be divided. The panegyrists of the emperor, who were eager to celebrate his piety and his zeal, have represented his conversion as a miraculous event, which was confirmed by the appearance of a cross in the sky, and by the victory which he obtained over his rival Maxentius. The critics, on the other hand, who are less disposed to believe in the supernatural, have sought to explain the conversion of Constantine by the influence of his mother Helena, or by the political necessity of securing the support of the Christians, who were already a powerful and influential body in the empire.

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It is probable that the truth lies between these two extremes, and that the conversion of Constantine was the result of a combination of motives, in which the influence of his mother, the political advantages of the Christian religion, and the genuine conviction of his own mind, all played a part. The character of Constantine was complex and contradictory, and it is not easy to determine the precise nature of his religious beliefs. He was a man of great ambition and of great ability, and he was always ready to adapt his conduct to the circumstances of the time.

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The conversion of Constantine was a turning point in the history of the Roman empire, and it had a profound influence on the development of the Christian church. The emperor, who had once been the persecutor of the Christians, became their protector and their patron, and he used his power to promote the interests of the church and to suppress the pagan religion. The conversion of Constantine was the beginning of a new era in the history of the world, and it is a subject which will continue to be discussed by historians for many years to come.