Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s6.3

v1.c5.s6.3

ON the extreme left of the painting is a dark-green gateway, in which a blurred pale-brown figure may be noticed. Beyond this gate we see a portico, in which a male figure with ugly features is prominent. Below him is a female dwarf, with a long trunk and short legs, carrying a tray of sweets or flowers. Close to these two deformed figures is a young maid of extraordinary elegance and beauty holding a *chaurī*. Her body is poised in a most graceful manner, the curve of the waist-line and the positions of the hands being extremely artistic. It is interesting to note that the painter has aimed at enhancing the artistic effect by introducing contradictory elements in his composition—grouping a most handsome figure side by side with ugly and stunted creatures.