A painting from the Ajanta caves, India. These Buddhist cave temples, which date from 200 BC to the 7th century AD, were cut from solid granite, and are decorated with many such paintings.
Arts of the Indian subcontinent (present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). Indian art dates back to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, about 3000–1500 BC, centred on the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. Only resilient artefacts have survived from this era because of the Indian climate, but small soapstone seals, pottery, and terracotta figures reflect the influence of Mesopotamian art. Beginning about 1800 BC, the Aryan invasions gave rise to the Hindu religion and arts celebrating its gods, heroes, and scenes from the two great epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyana. From the 6th century BC, Buddhist art developed, following the life and enlightenment of the Buddha Sakyamuni. A third strand was added in the 16th–17th centuries when the Mogul Empire introduced Islamic art to the subcontinent.
Early Buddhist art developed in relation to the architecture of the stupa (temple shrines to the Buddha and his disciples), typically using symbols to represent the Buddha. The first appearance of the Buddha in human form was in the sculptures of the Mathura tradition (2nd century BC) and those of Gandhara (2nd–6th centuries AD) – possibly the greatest school of Buddhist sculpture. The Gandhara sculptures show Greek influence and, along with the Buddhist religion, were exported to China, Korea, and Japan. The deep relief of the Mathura work was followed by the gentler sculptures of Gupta (about 5th century AD). The Ajanta caves near Mumbai (formerly Bombay), first begun about 200 BC, contain the finest example of Gupta art – mural paintings from the 5th–7th centuries which, though religious in intent, reflect a sophisticated, courtly society. |
