The art and architecture produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is given unusually free expression in Indian culture. A strong sense of design is also characteristic of Indian art and can be observed in its modern as well as in its traditional forms.
The art of
India must be understood and judged in the context of the
ideological, aesthetic, and ritual assumptions and needs of the Indian
civilization. These assumptions were formed as early as the 1st century
BC and have shown a remarkable tenacity through the ages. The Hindu-
Buddhist-Jain view of the world is largely concerned with the resolution
of the central paradox of all existence, which is that change and
perfection, time and eternity, immanence and transcendence, operate dichotomously
and integrally as parts of a single process. In such a situation the creation
cannot be separated from the creator, and time can be comprehended only as
a matrix of eternity. This conceptual view, when expressed in art, divides
the universe of aesthetic experience into three distinct, although interrelated,
elements-the senses, the emotions, and the spirit. These elements dictate
the norms for architecture as an instrument of enclosing and transforming
space and for sculpture in its volume, plasticity, modeling, composition,
and aesthetic values. Instead of depicting the dichotomy between the flesh
and the spirit, Indian art, through a deliberate sensuousness and voluptuousness,
fuses one with the other through a complex symbolism that, for example, attempts
to transform the fleshiness of a feminine form into a perennial mystery of
sex and creativity, wherein the momentary spouse stands revealed as the eternal
mother.
The Indian artist deftly uses certain primeval motifs, such as the feminine figure, the tree, water, the lion, and the elephant. In a given composition, although the result is sometimes conceptually unsettling, the qualities of sensuous vitality, earthiness, muscular energy, and rhythmic movement remain unmistakable. The form of the Hindu temple; the contours of the bodies of the Hindu gods and goddesses; and the light, shade, composition, and volume in Indian painting are all used to glorify the mystery that resolves the conflict between life and death, time and eternity.
The arts of India expressed in architecture, sculpture, painting, jewelry, pottery, metalwork, and textiles, were spread throughout the Far East with the diffusion of Buddhism and Hinduism and exercised a strong influence on the arts of China, Japan, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Java. These two religions with their various offshoots were dominant in India until Islam became powerful from the 13th to the 18th century. With Islam, which forbids representation of the human figure in religious contexts, geometrical patterns became the most common decoration in the arts patronized by the Muslim rulers.
Indian architecture found its earliest expression in brick buildings that were contemporary with buildings that were constructed of wood. The wooden structures disappeared over the centuries, but they were succeeded and imitated in stone buildings, which have survived.
Early Indian and Buddhist Styles
The oldest
architectural remains in India are buildings of burnt brick found
at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (now in Pakistan), dating from about
2500-1750 BC. The subsequent Vedic period, which precedes the
beginning of historical styles, is represented by burial mounds at Lauriya
Nandangarh, in Bihar State, and rock-cut tombs in Malabar, Kerala State.
The establishment of historical styles began about 250 BC in the time of the Indian king Asoka, who gave imperial patronage to Buddhism. Accordingly, the monuments of this time were built for Buddhist purposes. A characteristic Buddhist construction was the tope, or stupa, a memorial mound encased in masonry, with an altar and parasol at the top, corridors around the base, and four entrances marked by gateways. The best example of these structures, commemorative of the death and entering into Nirvana of Buddha, is the Great Stupa in Sanchi in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Other Buddhist structures are the dagoba, a relic shrine, said to be the ancestral form of the pagoda; the lat, a stone edict pillar, generally monumental; the chaitya, a hall of worship in basilican form; and the vihara, a monastery or temple. Chaityas and viharas were often hewn out of living rock. Architectural details such as capitals and moldings show influence from Middle Eastern and Greek sources. Notable examples of early rock-cut monuments in Maharashtra State are the Great Chaitya Hall at Karle (circa early 2nd century AD) with its elaborate sculptured facade and tunnel-vaulted nave, and various temples and monasteries at Ajanta and Ellora.
Jain and Hindu Styles
Buddhism
waned after the 5th century as Hinduism and Jainism became
dominant. The Jain and Hindu styles overlapped and produced the elaborate
allover patterns carved in bands that became the distinguishing feature of
Indian architecture. The Jains often built on a gigantic scale, a marked
feature being pointed domes constructed of level courses of corbeled
stones. Extensive remains have been discovered on hilltops far removed
from one another in three states, at Parasnath Hill in Bihar, Mount
Abut at Abu in Rajasthan, and Satrunjaya in Gujarat. Small temples were congregated
in great numbers on hilltops; one of the earlier groups is on Mount Abu. Typical
of Jain commemorative towers is the richly ornamented, nine-story Jaya Sthamba.
The Hindu style is closely related to the Jain style. It is divided into three general categories: northern, from AD 600 to the present; central, from 1000 to 1300; and southern, or Dravidian, from 1350 to 1750. In all three periods the style is marked by great ornateness and the use of pyramidal roofs. Spirelike domes terminate in delicate finials. Other features include the elaborate, grand-scale gopuras, or gates, and the choultries, or ceremonial halls. Among the most famous examples of the style are the temples in the south at Belur, and at Halebid, Tiruvalur, Thanjavur, and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu State; temples in the north at Barolli in Rajasthan, at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and at Konarak the Sun Temple in Orissa State.
Indo-Islamic Style
Islamic architecture
in India dates from the 13th century to the present.
Brought to India by the first Muslim conquerors, Islamic architecture
soon lost its original purity and borrowed such elements from Indian
architecture as courtyards surrounded by colonnades, balconies
supported by brackets, and above all, decoration. Islam, on the other
hand, introduced to India the dome, the true arch, geometric motifs,
mosaics, and minarets. Despite fundamental conceptual differences, Indian
and Islamic architecture achieved a harmonious fusion, especially in certain
regional styles.
Indo-Islamic style is usually divided into three phases: the Pashtun, the Provincial, and the Mughal. Examples of the earlier Pashtun style in stone are at Ahmadabad in Gujarat State, and in brick at Gaur-Pandua in West Bengal State. These structures are closely allied to Hindu models, but are simpler and lack sculptures of human figures. The dome, the arch, and the minaret are constant features of the style; a famous monument in this style is the mausoleum Gol Gumbaz (17th century) in Bijapur, Mysore State, which has a dome with a 43-m (142-ft) diameter, almost as big as that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Another notable structure is the five-story stone and marble tower called the Qutb Minar (12th cent.), near Delhi.
The Provincial style reflected the continued rebellion of the provinces against the imperial style of Delhi. The best example of this phase is in Gujarat, where for almost two centuries until 1572, when Emperor Akbar finally conquered the region, the dynasties that succeeded one another erected many monuments in varying styles. The most notable structures in this phase are found in the capital, Ahmadabad. The Jami Masjid (1423) is unique in the whole of India; although Muslim in inspiration, the arrangement of 3 bays and almost 300 pillars, as well as the decoration, in this mosque is pure Hindu.
The Mughal phase of the Indo-Islamic style, from the 16th to the 18th century, developed to a high degree the use of such luxurious materials as marble. The culminating example of the style is the Taj Mahal in Agra. This domed mausoleum of white marble inlaid with gemstones was built (1632-48) by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife. It stands on a platform set off by four slender minarets and is reflected in a shallow pool. Other famous examples of the Mughal style are the Pearl Mosque at Agra, Uttar Pradesh State, the palace fortresses at Agra and Delhi, and the great mosques at Delhi and Lahore (now in Pakistan).
Modern Styles
Building
in India since the 18th century has either carried on the
indigenous historical forms or has been patterned after European models
introduced by the British. Numerous examples of Western styles of the
18th, 19th, and 20th centuries may be seen in public buildings, factories,
hotels, and houses. The most outstanding example of modern
architecture in India is the city of Chandėgarh, the joint capital of Haryana
and Punjab; the city was designed by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier
in collaboration with Indian architects. The broad layout of the city was
completed in the early 1960s. Notable architectural features include the vaulted
structure, topped by a huge, concrete roof umbrella, and the use of concrete
grille and bright pastel colors in the Palace of Justice; the arrangement
of concrete cubes topped by a concrete parasol that is the Governor's Palace;
and the use of projections, recesses, stair towers, and other contrasting
elements to break the monotony of the long facades of the secretariat building,
which are 244 m (800 ft) long. Modern Indian architecture has incorporated
Western styles, adapting them to local traditions and needs-as in the design
of the railroad station at Alwar, Rajasthan State.
The earliest prehistoric sculpture in India was produced in stone, clay, ivory, copper, and gold.
Early Period
Examples of the 3rd millennium BC from the Indus Valley, found among the remains of the burnt-brick buildings of Mohenjo-Daro, include alabaster and marble figures, terra-cotta figurines of nude goddesses, terra-cotta and faience representations of animals, a copper model of a cart, and numerous square seals of ivory and of faience showing animals and pictographs. The similarity of these objects to Mesopotamian work in subject matter and stylized form indicates an interrelationship of the two cultures and a possible common ancestry (see Mesopotamian Art and Architecture). In Vedic and later times, from the 2nd millennium to the 3rd century BC, connections with Middle Eastern culture are not evident. An example of the earlier phase of this period is a 9th-century BC gold figurine of a goddess, found at Lauriya Nandangarh. Later, from 600 BC to historical times, common examples include finely polished and ornamented stone disks and coins representing many kinds of animals and religious symbols.
Buddhist Sculpture
With the
rise of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC and the development of
a monumental architecture in stone, stone sculpture both in relief and
in the round became important architectural adjuncts. Buddha himself
was not shown in early Indian art; he was represented by symbols and
scenes from his life. Among other common subjects for representation
were Buddhist deities and edifying legends. At this time and
subsequently throughout the history of Indian sculpture, figures and
ornamentation were arranged in intricately related compositions. Monuments
of the period include the animal capitals of King Asoka's sandstone edict
pillars, and the marble railings that surround the Buddhist stupas at Bharhut,
near Satna in Madhya Pradesh, where the reliefs seem to be compressed between
the surface plane and the background plane. Also outstanding are the gates
of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, where the reliefs suggest the delicacy and detail
of ivory carving.
In northwest India, in a region that was called Gandhara in ancient times and now includes Afghanistan and part of the Punjab, a Greco-Buddhist school of sculpture arose that combined the influence of Greek forms and Buddhist subject matter. It reached the peak of its production in the 2nd century AD. Although the Gandhara style greatly influenced sculptural work in Central Asia and even in China, Korea, and Japan, it did not have a major effect in the rest of India; it is probable, however, that the images as well as the symbols of Buddha developed at Gandhara later spread to Mathura, now in Uttar Pradesh, where an important school of sculpture developed from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. Remains of the earlier work of this school also show a close relationship to the style of the sculpture at Bharhut. Later, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Mathura school discarded the old symbols of Buddha and represented him with actual figures. This innovation was carried on through subsequent phases of Indian sculpture.
The Gupta period, from AD 320 to about 550, produced Buddhas with clearly defined lines and refined contours. The drapery of the figure was diaphanous and clung to the body as if wet. Often the figures were made on a great scale, as in the colossal copper sculpture, weighing about 1 metric ton, from Sultanganj, Bihar State.
Hindu Sculpture
Hindu sculpture also developed during the Gupta period. Reliefs were carved in rock-cut sanctuaries in Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh (400-600), and adorned temples at Garhwa, near Allahabad, and Deogarh. From the 7th to the 9th century a number of schools flourished. They include the highly architectural style of the Pallavas, exemplified by the work at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu; the Rastrakuta style, of which the best-preserved examples are a colossal temple relief and the three-headed bust of Shiva at Elephanta, near Bombay; and the Kashmėr style, which shows some Greco-Buddhist influence in the remains at Vijrabror, and more indigenous forms in figures of Hindu gods found at Vantipor.
From the 9th century to the consolidation of Muslim power at the beginning of the 13th century, Indian sculpture increasingly tended toward the linear, the forms appearing to be sharply outlined rather than voluminous. More so than previously, sculpture was applied as a decoration, subordinate to its architectural setting. It was intricate and elaborate in detail and was characterized by complicated, many-armed figures drawn from the pantheon of Hindu and Jain gods, which replaced the earlier simple figures of Buddhist gods. Emphasis on technical virtuosity also added to the multiplication of involved forms.
At this time the three distinct areas of production in sculpture were (1) the north and east, (2) Rajputana (now part of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan states), and (3) the south-central and western regions. In the north and east, one of the main schools was centered in Bihar and Bengal under the Pala dynasty from 750 to 1200. A notable source for sculpture was the monastery and university at Nalanda in Bihar. Black slate was a common medium, and the themes, at first still Buddhist, gradually became more and more Hindu. Another northeastern school, in Orissa, produced typically Hindu work, including the monumental elephants and horses and erotic friezes at the Sun Temple in Konarak. In Rajputana the local style was exemplified in the hard sandstone temple of Khajuraho, which was literally covered with Hindu sculptures. The south-central and western schools produced notable works at Mysore, Halebid, and Belur. The temples were embellished with friezes, pillars, and brackets carved in fine-grained dark stone.
After the Muslims became dominant, they adopted many of the native patterns as ornament. The traditions have persisted until the present day, especially in the south, where art retains its indigenous purity.
Remains of
Indian painting before AD 100 have survived in two localities
. The remarkable Buddhist murals in rock-cut shrines in Ajanta, in
Maharashtra, cover the period from AD 50 to 642. The earlier paintings of
the Ajanta caves represent figures of indigenous types, having noble
bearing and depicted with strong sensuality. The painting in the Jogimara
cave at Orissa belongs to two periods, 1st century BC and medieval;
the later work is not as good, obscuring the earlier, more vigorous drawing.
he Gupta period established the classical phase of Indian art, at once serene and energetic, spiritual and voluptuous. Art was the explicit medium of stating spiritual conceptions. A special kind of painting, executed on scrolls, depicted the reward of good and evil deeds in the world. Painting of the Gupta period has been preserved in three of the Ajanta caves. Represented are numerous Buddhas, sleeping women, and love scenes. Another group of Buddhist wall paintings, found at Bamian, in Afghanistan, reveal that these artists could represent any human posture. The drawing is stated in firm outline, and the subjects vary from the sublime to the grotesque. The whole spirit is one of emphatic, passionate force. The paintings in the first and second Ajanta caves date from the early 7th century and can hardly be distinguished in style from those of the Gupta period. Represented are bacchanalian scenes of the type that recur in Buddhist art from the early Kusana period onward. Also of great interest are the Jain Palava paintings (7th cent.) recently discovered in a cave shrine at Sittanavasal, Tamil Nadu State. Remains of murals have been found at Ellora (late 8th cent.). Such subjects as a rider on a horned lion and many pairs of figures floating among clouds anticipate characteristic themes of the Indian medieval style.
The only surviving documents of the Pala school (750-1200) are the illustrations in the two palm-leaf manuscripts in the University of Cambridge library, in England, one dating from the beginning and the other from the middle of the 11th century, and containing, in all, 51 miniatures. The illustrations represent Buddhist divinities or scenes from the life of Buddha, evidently replicas of traditional compositions.
One example of an illustrated Kalpa Sutra, or manual of religious ceremonial, on palm leaf is known, dated equivalent to 1237 and now at Patan, Gujarat. The variety of scenes represented affords valuable information on the manners, customs, and dress of the Gujarati culture; Gujarati painting was a continuation of the early western Indian style; the frescoes of Ellora represent an intermediate stage of development.
Rajput painting flourished in Rajputana, Bundelkhand (now part of Madhya Pradesh), and the Punjab Himalayas from the late 16th into the 19th century. It consisted of manuscript illumination in flat, decorative patterns and bright colors that resembled Persian and Mughal painting of the same period. Rajput painting, a refined and lyrical folk art, illustrates traditional Hindu epics, especially the life of the god Krishna.
Mughal painting, derived from the sophisticated Persian tradition, was a court art sponsored by the emperors. Reflecting an exclusive interest in secular life, it is essentially an art of portraiture and of historical chronicle. Mughal painting, on manuscripts or as independent album leaves, is dramatic and precisely realistic in detail, showing Western influence. Painters signed their own work, and at least 100 of their names are known.
By the end of the 19th century, traditional Indian painting had begun to die out, replaced by work merely imitative of Western styles; European influence had started to infiltrate with the establishment of British rule in India. After the turn of the century there was a revival of interest in the older styles (stimulated by the archaeological study that had been going on in India since about the middle of the 19th century). Art centers arose in Bombay and, more importantly, in Bengal, where many of the artists were associated with the Calcutta School of Art and with Visva-Bharati, the university founded in 1921 by the Indian poet and painter Rabindranath Tagore to reconcile Indian and Western traditions. Experiments were made in styles ranging from Ajanta, Rajput, and Mughal painting to impressionism, postimpressionism, and surrealism. Artists such as Nandolol Bose drew their inspiration primarily from Ajanta art; others, like Jamini Roy, found their inspiration in Bengali folk art. By the mid-20th century, Indian painting was international in flavor, and Indian artists were working in a number of different idioms.
Of all the
decorative arts in India, jewelry is the most universally
interesting and beautiful. The techniques of filigree and granular work,
which disappeared in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire and were
not used again until their introduction by the Moors in the 15th century,
were never lost in India.
The special qualities that distinguish the best Indian pottery are the strict subordination of color and ornament to form, and the conventionalizing and repetition of natural forms in the decoration. Unglazed pottery has been made throughout India; decorative pottery for commercial purposes, painted, gilded, and glazed, is made in special varieties in different provinces. Exquisite color tones and combinations are found in the glazed tiles that came into fashion with the Muslim conquest after the 11th century. Among the branches of artistic metalwork, that of the arms and equipment of the great chieftains is prominent.
Kashmėr is noted for its richly colored woolen shawls; Surat, in Gujarat, is known for silk prints; and sumptuous brocades come from Ahmadabad and Varanasi, and from Murshidabad in western Bengal. India has long been famous for its silk and cotton textiles, printed and embroidered as well as loom figured.
