Paintings

And
Sculptures
SCULPTURES IN INDIAN ART:
 The first sculptures in India date back to the Indus Valley
civilization, where stone and bronze carvings have been
discovered.
 This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world.
 Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism developed further,
India produced some of the most intricate bronzes in the world, as
well as un rivalled temple carvings.
 Some huge shrines, such as the one at Ellora were not actually
constructed using blocks, but instead carved out of rock, making
them perhaps the largest and most intricate sculptures in the
world.
 During the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern India, in what is
now southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures
became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha’s life
and teachings.
 Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of
rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human
form before this time, but only through some of his symbols.
 This may be because Gandharan Buddhist sculpture in modern
Afghanistan displays Greek and Persian artistic influence.
 Artistically, the Gandharan school of sculpture is said to have
contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes and
sandals, acanthus leaf decorations, etc.
 The pink sandstone sculptures of Mathura evolved during the
Gupta period (4th to 6th century) to reach a very high fineness of
execution and delicacy in the modelling.
 Newer sculptures in Afghanistan, in stucco, schist or clay, display
very strong blending of Indian post-Gupta mannerism and
Classical influence, Hellenistic or possibly even Greco-Roman.
 Meanwhile, elsewhere in India, less anatomically accurate styles
of human representation evolved, leading to the classical art that
the world is now familiar with, and contributing to Buddhist and
Hindu sculpture throughout Asia.
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MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF MOGHULS:
 Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian painting,
generally confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as
single works to be kept in albums, which emerged from 
Persian miniature painting, with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist
influences, and developed during the period of the Mughal Empire
 (16th - 19th centuries).
 Mughal painting was rich in variety and included portraits, events
and scenes from court life, wild life and hunting scenes, and
illustrations of battles.
 Mughal painting developed and flourished during the reigns of 
Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
 During the reign of Akbar (1556-1605), the imperial court, apart
from being the centre of administrative authority to manage and
rule the vast Mughal empire, also emerged as a centre of cultural
excellence.
 Mughal painting thrived and hundreds of painters created
innumerable paintings depicting scenes from
various Hindu epics including the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata; themes with animal fables; individual portraits;
and paintings on scores of different themes. Mughal style during
this period continued to refine itself with elements of realism and
naturalism coming to the fore.
 Jahangir (1605-27) had an artistic inclination and during his reign
Mughal painting developed further. Brushwork became finer and
the colors lighter.
 Jahangir was also deeply influenced by European painting.
 During his reign he came into direct contact with the English
Crown and was sent gifts of oil paintings, which included portraits
of the King and Queen.
 He encouraged his royal atelier to take up the single point
perspective favoured by European artists, unlike the flattened
multi-layered style used in traditional miniatures
 He particularly encouraged paintings depicting events of his own
life, individual portraits, and studies of birds, flowers and animals.
 The Jahangirnama , written during his lifetime, which is a
biographical account of Jahangir, has several paintings, including
some unusual subjects such as the sexual union of a saint with a
tigress, and fights between spiders.
 During the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-58), Mughal paintings
continued to develop, but they gradually became cold and rigid.
 Themes including musical parties; lovers, sometimes in intimate
positions, on terraces and gardens; and ascetics gathered around a
fire, abound in the Mughal paintings of this period.
MAJOR ARTISTS:
 The Persian master artists Abdus Samad and Mir Sayid Ali, who had
accompanied Humayun to India, were in charge of the imperial atelier during
the early formative stages of Mughal painting. Mughal painting flourished
during the late 16th and early 17th centuries with spectacular works of art by
master artists such as Basawan, Lal, Miskin, Kesu Das, and Daswanth.
 Govardhan was a noted painter during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah
Jahan.
 The sub-imperial school of Mughal painting included artists such as Mushfiq,
Kamal, and Fazl.
 During the first half of the 18th century, many Mughal-trained artists left the
imperial workshop to work at Rajput courts. These include artists such as
Bhawanidas and his son Dalchand.
DECLINE:
 Aurangzeb (1658-1707) did not actively encourage Mughal paintings, but as this
art form had gathered momentum and had a number of patrons, Mughal paintings
continued to survive, but the decline had set in.
 Some sources however note that a few of the best Mughal paintings were made
for Aurangzeb, speculating that the painters may have realized that he was about
to close the workshops and thus exceeded themselves in his behalf.
 A brief revival was noticed during the reign of Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela'
(1719-48), but by the time of Shah Alam II (1759-1806), the art of Mughal
painting had lost its glory.
 By that time, other schools of Indian painting had developed, including, in the
royal courts of the Rajput kingdoms of Rajputana, Rajput painting and in the
cities ruled by the British East India Company, the Company style under Western
influence.
MODERN MOGHUL ART:
 Mughal miniature paintings are still being created today by a small number of
artists in Rajasthan concentrated mainly in Jaipur. Although many of these
miniatures are skillful copies of the originals, some artists have produced
modern works using classic methods to, at times, remarkable artistic effect.
 The skills needed to produce these modern versions of Mughal miniatures are
still passed on from generation to generation, although many artisans also
employ dozens of workers, often painting under trying working conditions, to
produce remarkable works sold under the signature of their modern masters.
 Of the modern Mughal masters recognized by India, the most prominent
remains Rafi Uddin who is the recipient of a large number of artistic honours
from India over the last several decades.
 His younger brother Saif Uddin, who ghost-painted for
his famous brother for years, has since become the most
recognized modern Mughal painter straying from
traditional Indian scenes into themes well away from
century old traditions with remarkable effect.
 Other masters in Rajasthan include Kaluram Panchal,
Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya, Ved Pal Sharma, Kailash Raj,
Tilak Gitai, Gopal Kamawat, Mohammed Usman and
Mohammed Luqman, Kishan Mali Sharma and the
Joshi family.
Rajasthani Paintings
 Rajasthani Painting, is a style of Indian painting, evolved
and flourished during the 18th century in the royal courts of 
Rajputana, India, flowing from the style of Mughal painting,
itself derived from the Persian miniature.

Each Rajput kingdom evolved a distinct style, but with

certain common features.

Rajput paintings depict a number of themes, events of epics

like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Krishna’s life,
beautiful landscapes, and humans. 

Miniatures in manuscripts or single sheets to be kept in

albums were the preferred medium of Rajput painting, but
many paintings were done on the walls of palaces, inner
chambers of the forts
An 18th century Rajput painting by the artist Nihâl Chand.
Godhuli, Mewar, ca. 1813
Bas relief
A bas-relief is a projecting image with a shallow overall
depth. The background is very compressed or completely
flat, as on most coins, on which all images are in low
relief.

 A bas-relief may use any medium or technique of sculpture,

but stone carving and metal casting are the traditional ones.

 If more than half of most rounded or cylindrical elements

such as heads and legs project from the background, a
sculpture is usually considered to be alto rilievo or "high
relief", although the degree of relief within both types may
vary across a composition, with prominent features such as
faces in higher relief.
Georges Jeanclos
Bas-Relief terra cotta
Bas Relief Angkor Wat by ChrisJ 
40 feet high bas relief,
Mahabalipuram
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted
directly on a wall, ceiling or other large
permanent surface.

 Murals are important in that they bring art into

the public sphere. Due to the size, cost, and work
involved in creating a mural, muralists must often
be commissioned by a sponsor.
Diego Rivera's mural
depicting Mexico's history at
the National Palace in Mexico
City
The San Bartolo mural
Forest mural by One Red Shoe in private home, England 2007
Mint&Serf at Ace Hotel, New York City
Jataka tales from the Ajanta caves, c. 200 BC - 600 BC
Murals depicting Hindu religious art adorn the walls of the Mattancherry Palace,
kochin,kerala.
The murals on the ceiling of the Devasiriya mandapa of the Thyagarajaswamy
temple.
A mural on the wall of a temple at Lepakshi near Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.
 Sculptures

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by
shaping or combining hard materials - typically stone -
or marble, metal, glass, or wood. Softer ("plastic") materials
can also be used, such as clay, textiles,
plastics, polymers and softer metals.

The temple architecture of the South Indian is very

different from the temple architecture of the rest of India.
The temple building activity of the South India can be
divided three  periods corresponding to the main kingdoms,
which ruled the South India for the centuries
South Indian Temple Sculptures

Chola sculptures

The features of Chola sculptures will remind one of the

Dravidian art and sculpture. In fact it was the Chola rulers
who properly developed this style.

 One of the main features of Chola architectures are the

hugeness of the structures, especially the temples.

Granite was widely used for the construction. Important

features of the Chola temples are the lofty shikharas, square
bases, ornamented gopurams, sculpted walls outer and inner
walls and others. 
Carved miniature images of gods and goddesses are found in the
recesses of the temple walls. This is a common feature of Chola
sculptures. Carving out various images of deities, floral sculptures, etc
were widely used to adorn the colossal Chola temples.

An instance of the finest Chola architecture is the Brihadeswara or

Rajarajeswara Temple in Tanjore. The principal deity in this temple
is Lord Shiva. Besides the temple walls the gopurams are also
decorated with exquisite sculpture

Religion was a key influence as far as the Chola art and

architectures were concerned. It was during their reign that the
construction of the gopuram or gateway came into vogue. The
gopurams were often quite high but these were vividly sculpted with
different god and goddesses. 
Pallava sculptures
Pallava Sculptures for the first time introduced the use of rock in
Indian architecture.
 The Pallava sculptures came into being from the 4th to 9th
centuries. It was during the Pallava reign that the rock cut
architecture flourished. The earliest specimens of Pallava art and
architecture date back to the 610-690 AD.
 The other temples, on the other hand, were constructed from
690-900 AD. In fact the rock cut caves also came into vogue
during the Pallava Empire.
The features of Pallava Sculptures include intricate carvings.
Mammoth images were carved out of stone so that the buildings
can be dedicated to the deities.
 The Hindu epics were a popular source from which the
artisans derived their subjects. These were then retold
through the stone sculptures.
 The sculpture of Mamallapuram is a fine instance of
the Pallava sculptures. The Shore Temple stands tall even
today to relate the brilliance of the local craftsmanship.
 Another outstanding piece of art that was carved out of
stone during the Pallava reign is the
sculpture of Kailasanatha Temple. 
Shore temple ,mahabalipuram.
Kailashnath temple, kanchipuram.
Elephant caves, mahabalipuram.
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the
identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of
images.

The word iconography literally means "image writing“.

Religious images are used to some extent by all major religions,
including both Indian and Abrahamic  faiths, and often contain highly.

 Central to the iconography of Indian religions are  mudra or gestures

with specific meanings.
The symbolic use of colour to denote the Classical Elements or 
Mahabhuta  and letters and bija syllables from sacred alphabetic scripts
are other features.

Under the influence of tantra art developed esoteric meanings,

accessible only to initiates; this is an especially strong feature
of Tibetan art.
Indian Iconography
SOUTH INDIAN BRONZE ICONOGRAPHY:

 Each Hindu God sculpture is a one-of-

a-kind piece, created by the artisans of
Southern India who have been
perfecting the art of the
lost wax method of bronze casting for
generations. 
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PROJECT BY:

•IMAD
•NIHARIKA
•PALLAVI
•NARASIMHAN