Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c15.69

v4.c15.69

In regard to human forms the art of Ajanta is closely allied to that of the sculpture of Amarāvatī, so much so that if the photographs of some of the Jātaka scenes of Amarāvatī be placed side by side with the photographs of some of the paintings of Ajanta it will be difficult to differentiate between them. To appreciate this fact fully, the figures of women shown in the Chāmpeya Jātaka at Amarāvatī should be studied, for in the style of pose, the suppleness of limbs, and several artistic features, they are identical with those represented in the paintings of Ajanta.⁴ This close resemblance of form is apparently based on an artistic tradition which was evolved in the Deccan as a result of the religious beliefs and aesthetic ideals which were common to the sculptors of Amarāvatī and the painters of Ajanta and inspired both groups equally.