INDIAN ARCHITECTURAL

AND
ART STYLE
Presented By-
Arpit Kaur
Keshav Sethi
Namsit Narula
Shipra
 INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

• The Indian architecture revolves around

their tradition and cultures.
• India has witnessed various architectural
style throughout history.
• Among those, Hindu temple architecture
and Indo-Islamic architecture are the most
famous.
• Both the architecture reflects their religious
and cultural beliefs and traditions.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES THROUGHOUT
HISTORY
Indus Valley Civilization
(2600 BCE – 1900 BCE)

Stone and brick dwellings

Mauryan, Kalinga and Buddhist

(600 BCE—250 CE)

Rock-cut buildings.

Gupta Architecture
(460 BCE onwards)

Major Rock-cut caves.

 Temple Architecture

Jain Temple Architecture

Inspired from Hindu temple architecture.

Indo-Islamic Architecture
L
O
C
A
L Rajput architecture Sikh architecture

S
T
Y
L
E
S
Maratha architecture Bengal architecture
 Colonial British Era (1757-1947)

• This style combines Indian and European architecture.

• Various style of European architecture like
Neoclassicism and gothic can be seen in various
Indian Buildings.
TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
• The Hindu temple architecture can be divided into
Nagara and Dravidian style differing in style through
region.
• It reflects a synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma,
beliefs, values and the way of life cherished under
Hinduism.
• The form and meanings of architectural elements in a
Hindu temple are designed to function as the place
where it is the link between man and the divine, to help
his progress to spiritual knowledge and truth, his
liberation it calls moksha.
 FEATURES
 Symmetric plans and use of geometric shapes
 Inter-connected different blocks
 Square grid principle
 Replication and mirroring
 Network of pillars and statues with carvings and art.
 INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
 Indo Islamic architecture can be divided according to different empires which
ruled in India i.e., Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.
 Various new architectural elements were added due to Persian and Afghan
influence.
FEATURES
 Arches and Domes
 Massiveness in buildings
 Calligraphy and jaali-work
 Presence of water bodies.
 Charbagh style
 Mosaic design
 EARLIEST INDIAN ART – INDUS VALLEY
 The earliest examples of civic planning
: houses, markets, storage facilities,
offices, and public baths were
arranged in a grid like scheme.

 There was also a highly developed

drainage system.

 The indus civilization produced many

statuettes made of steatite and
limestone.
 Statues are done in the smooth, sinuous
style that is the prototype of later
indian sculpture

 Bronze weapons, tools, and sculptures

indicate a sophistication in
craftsmanship rather than a major
aesthetic development.
 POST INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
 The monolithic, smooth columns are
over 50 ft (15 m) high and are
surmounted by lotus capitals and
animal figures.

 The principles of Indian architecture

were developed in wooden buildings,
long since disintegrated.

 Some of the pillar capitals reveal forms

that suggest Persepolitan influences.
 As they evolved, from the
3d cent. BC through the
1st millennium AD, they
became elaborate
colonnaded halls, or walls
embellished with painting
or sculpture.

 The chaitya halls were

monastic sanctuaries hewn
out of rock. 
 Chaitya was a rectangular prayer
hall with a stupa placed in the
centre, the purpose was prayer.
 The Chaitya was divided into three
parts, and had an apsidal ending,
that is, a semicircular rear end.
 The central part of the hall (also
called the nave) was separated
from the two aisles by two rows of
pillars.
 The chaityas also had polished
interior walls, semicircular roofs
and horse-shoe shaped windows
called the Chaitya windows.
 Viharas were for the purpose of
living, Chaityas were assemblies
for the purpose of discussions.

 Viharas were the residences of

the monks.
 SUNGA AND ANDHRA
DYNASTIES – STUPAS
 The main stupas is at bharhut,
where the sculpture is archaic in
character.
 Relief medallions of the buddha's
life or of the jatakas (tales of his
previous lives) are shallow cut,
with all the incidents of each story
arranged within a single
composition.

Ken Kawasaki:Bharhut Stupa In the Indian Museum, Kolkata

 TRIUMPH OF LABOUR

Artist:Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury

Year:1959
Type:Statue
Medium:Bronze
Location:Marina Beach, Chennai

HISTORY
 On a summer evening in May 1923, M.
Singaravelar, a labour union leader, conducted a
meeting at the Marina Beach near Triplicane,
calling for recognition of workers' rights, and
pledged to create a political party to represent
the rights of labourers, which was India's first ever
May Day rally.

DEPICTION
 The statue shows four men toiling to move a rock,
depicting the hard work of the labouring class. It
bears a semblance to the famed World War II
photograph of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima
by the American Marines.
 SANTHAL FAMILY

  Made from cement and laterite gravel, the ARTIST : Ramkinkar Baij
work depicts an Adivasi couple with their YEAR : 1938
two children and dog, possibly returning MEDIUM : Made from cement and laterite gravel
home after bartering their produce at a  
local market. It endows their humble lives
with a dignity and monumentality
traditionally reserved for the rich and
powerful. 
 VANSHREE

 Vanshree by Mrinalini Mukharjee

 ‘Vanshree’ (1994), woven of yellow and mauve, has
what seems undeniably like a face. Her eyes are sunken in, or
perhaps hooded, with age, or sleep. Her lips protrude, sulkily.
An umbrella above her, she sits grandly upon a golden throne
 GANDHARA AND MATHURA
GANDHARA
 It is a style of Buddhist visual art.
 The expression of calmness is the
center of attraction of gandhar
Buddha.
 In gandhara images, eyes are
longer, earlobes shorter and
noses sharper and better defined.
 It uses Greystone and lime plaster
MATHURA
 It deals with subjects from
hinduism and jainism as well.
 The expression of delight is the
center of attraction.
 Buddha images have longer
earlobe, thicker lips, wider eyes
and prominent nose.
 Redstone was used for making the
sculptures.
 SCULPTURE OF GUPTA PERIOD

 The sculptures of gupta period are

mainly found in madhaya Pradesh.

 We can find a huge stone made man-

boar (varaha) image at udaygiri hills,
Madhya Pradesh in which Vishnu is
shown as varaha.

 We could find copper statue of Buddha

at sultanganj in bihar. The height of
the image is seven and a half feet and
weight is of 1 ton. Right now it is found
in Birmingham museum and art gallery