Indian art
The rock shelters of Bhimbetka sit on the edge of the Deccan Plateau where deep erosion has left huge sandstone outcrops. Inside these caves and grottos, primitive tools and decorative rock paintings reflect an ancient tradition of human interaction with their landscape. The earliest paintings in these sites are some 10,000 years old. They commonly depicted scenes of human life alongside animals and hunts with stone implements. A red wash made using a powdered mineral called geru covered many surfaces. This pigment is a form of iron oxide known as hematite. Dr. V. S. Wakankar discovered several painted rock shelters in Central India situated around the Vindhya mountain range. About 750 sites make up the Bhimbetka rock shelters which have been enrolled as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An estimated quarter of a million figures and figurines exist across about 1300 rock art sites throughout India.
The north Indian Maurya Empire flourished from 322 BCE to 185 BCE under rulers who controlled all of the sub-continent except the extreme south. Emperor Ashoka died in 232 BCE after adopting Buddhism halfway through his 40-year reign. He patronized several large stupas at key sites from the life of the Buddha though very little decoration from the period survives. The most famous survivals are the large animals surmounting several of the Pillars of Ashoka. These pillars showed a confident and boldly mature style and craft. They were first of its kind iron casting without rust until date. The famous detached Lion Capital of Ashoka with four animals was adopted as the official Emblem of India after independence. Many small popular terracotta figurines are recovered in archaeology in a range of often vigorous if somewhat crude styles. Both animals and human figures usually females presumed to be deities appear frequently. A fine Mauryan polish given to the stone is rarely found in later periods.
In the 2nd century BCE Yakshas became the focus of the creation of colossal cultic images typically around 2 meters or more in height. These statues are considered probably the first Indian anthropomorphic productions in stone. The vigor of the style has been applauded and expresses essentially Indian qualities. They are often pot-bellied two-armed and fierce-looking. The Yaksha Mudgarpani holds a mudgar mace in his right hand while the left hand holds the figure of a small standing devotee or child joining hands in prayer. Some Hellenistic influence such as the geometrical folds of the drapery or the walking stance of the statues has been suggested. John Boardman writes that the hem of the dress in monumental early Yaksha statues looks most like a Greek Late Archaic mannerism. The region of Mathura not only rivaled other areas but surpassed them in overall quality and quantity throughout the second and early first century BCE. The female equivalent of the Yakshas were the Yakshinis often associated with trees and children whose voluptuous figures became omnipresent in Indian art.
The major survivals of Buddhist art begin in the period after the Mauryans from which good quantities of sculpture survive. Key sites include Sanchi Bharhut and Amaravati some of which remain in situ with others in museums around the world. Stupas were surrounded by ceremonial fences with four profusely carved toranas or ornamental gateways facing the cardinal directions. These are in stone though clearly adopting forms developed in wood. They and the walls of the stupa itself can be heavily decorated with reliefs mostly illustrating the lives of the Buddha. One of the most notable examples is The Great Stupa at Sanchi which was thought to be founded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka circa 273 BCE to 232 BCE. The Great Stupa was enlarged to its present diameter of 120 feet covered with a stone casing topped with a balcony and umbrella. It was encircled with a stone railing during the Shunga Dynasty between 150 BCE and 50 BCE. Buddhists venerate the stupa by walking around it in a clockwise manner as an extension of the Buddha's body and his enlightenment.
During the reign of Akbar from 1556 to 1605 the number of painters grew from around 30 during the creation of the Hamzanama in the mid-1560s to around 130 by the mid-1590s. Emperor Humayun brought Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad two of the finest painters from Persian Shah Tahmasp's renowned atelier when he reestablished the Delhi Sultanate in 1555. According to court historian Abu'l-Fazal Akbar was hands-on in his interest of the arts inspecting his painters regularly and rewarding the best. Indian elements were present in their works from the beginning with the incorporation of local Indian flora and fauna that were otherwise absent from traditional Persian style. The paintings reflected the vibrancy and inclusion of Akbar's kingdom with production of Persian miniatures Rajput paintings including the Kangra school and the Pahari style of Northern India. After Akbar's death his son Jahangir took the throne in 1605 preferring each painter work on a single piece rather than collaboration. This period marks the emergence of distinct individual styles notably Bishan Das Manohar Das Abu al-Hasan Govardhan and Daulat.
The Bengal School of Art originated in Bengal primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan and flourished throughout the subcontinent during the British Raj in the early 20th century. It was led by Abanindranath Tagore who lived from 1871 to 1951 but was also promoted and supported by British arts administrators like E. B. Havell. Havell served as principal of the Government College of Art and Craft in Kolkata from 1896. Between 1920 and 1925 Gaganendranath pioneered experiments in modernist painting using the language and syntax of Cubism. From 1925 onwards he developed a complex post-cubist style. With the Swadeshi Movement gaining momentum by 1905 Indian artists attempted to resuscitate pre-colonial cultural identities rejecting the Romanticized style of Company paintings. Painters and artists of the school included Nandalal Bose M.A.R Chughtai Sunayani Devi sister of Abanindranath Tagore Manishi Dey Mukul Dey Kalipada Ghoshal Asit Kumar Haldar Sudhir Khastgir Kshitindranath Majumdar Sughra Rababi Sukhvir Sanghal. Tagore later attempted to develop links with Japanese artists as part of an aspiration to construct a pan-Asianist model of art.
In 1947 India became independent of British rule. A group of six artists founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group in 1952 to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. The members were K. H. Ara S. K. Bakre H. A. Gade M.F. Husain S.H. Raza and Francis Newton Souza. Though the group was dissolved in 1956 it was profoundly influential in changing the idiom of Indian art. Almost all India's major artists in the 1950s were associated with the group. Some well-known names include Bal Chabda Manishi Dey V. S. Gaitonde Krishen Khanna Ram Kumar Tyeb Mehta K. G. Subramanyan A. Ramachandran Devender Singh Akbar Padamsee John Wilkins Himmat Shah and Manjit Bawa. Present-day Indian art is varied as it had been never before. Among the best-known artists of the newer generation are Bose Krishnamachari and Bikash Bhattacharjee. Painting and sculpture remained important in the later half of the twentieth century though leading artists like Nalini Malani Subodh Gupta Narayanan Ramachandran Vivan Sundaram Jitish Kallat GR Iranna Bharati Kher and Chittravanu Muzumdar found radical new directions.
Common questions
When were the earliest paintings in the Bhimbetka rock shelters created?
The earliest paintings in the Bhimbetka rock shelters are some 10,000 years old. These primitive tools and decorative rock paintings reflect an ancient tradition of human interaction with their landscape.
Who discovered the painted rock shelters at Bhimbetka in Central India?
Dr. V. S. Wakankar discovered several painted rock shelters in Central India situated around the Vindhya mountain range. About 750 sites make up the Bhimbetka rock shelters which have been enrolled as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What is the significance of the Lion Capital of Ashoka for modern India?
The famous detached Lion Capital of Ashoka with four animals was adopted as the official Emblem of India after independence. This artifact represents a confident and boldly mature style that was first of its kind iron casting without rust until date.
How many artists founded the Bombay Progressive Artists Group in 1952?
A group of six artists founded the Bombay Progressive Artists Group in 1952 to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. The members were K. H. Ara S. K. Bakre H. A. Gade M.F. Husain S.H. Raza and Francis Newton Souza.
Which artist led the Bengal School of Art from 1871 to 1951?
Abanindranath Tagore lived from 1871 to 1951 and led the Bengal School of Art which originated in Bengal primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan. He promoted pre-colonial cultural identities while rejecting the Romanticized style of Company paintings during the British Raj.