Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c15.46

v4.c15.46

² The five prime colours (minerals) are also the same as those to be found at Ajanta, and the practice of first drawing the outline of the subject in red, black, or white is in conformity with the technique of Ajanta. *Viṣṇudharmottara* (pp. 50-51) mentions other colours as well, such as vermilion, copper-sulphate, silver, and gold, but these were apparently used for illuminating manuscripts, an art which may have originated independently in Northern India and which is still practised there. The latter art is calligraphic in technique and differs altogether from the art of the mural paintings of Ajanta. The earliest paintings of Gujarāt exhibit a calligraphic form in their outlines.