Learning Objective
- Introduction
- Western Indian School of Painting
- Pala School of Painting
Introduction
The third Khanda of the *Vishnudharmottara Purana*, from the fifth century, includes the *Chitrasutra*, an essential source for Indian art, outlining image-making canons and discussing techniques, tools, and human figure representation. Key concepts include roopbheda (appearance), pramana (proportion), bhava (expression), lavanya yojana (composition), sadrishya (resemblance), and varnikabhanga (use of colors).
Medieval miniature paintings, intended for close viewing, differ from wall murals and often serve as manuscript illustrations for texts like the Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana. Each set of illustrations was bundled with colophon pages detailing the artist and commission.
These valuable paintings were frequently gifted among royals and traveled with pilgrims. Reconstructing painting history is challenging due to lost colophon pages and scattered folios, revealing gaps in activity that require speculative attributions based on style and circumstantial evidence.
Western Indian School of Painting
The Western Indian School of Painting, centered in Gujarat and Rajasthan, thrived due to prosperous trade and affluent Jain patrons, emphasizing Jain themes in illustrated manuscripts like the Kalpasutra. Early Jain paintings, initially on palm leaves, featured vibrant colors and simplified compositions, peaking between 1350 and 1450 with dynamic landscapes and figures. A parallel indigenous style arose among feudal lords, illustrating various themes pre-Mughal. With the late twelfth-century Sultanate dynasties, Persian and Turkic influences blended with local styles, leading to the Sultanate School of Painting, exemplified by the Nimatnama and infused with Sufi narratives in Laurchanda paintings.
Pala School of Painting
The Pala School of Painting flourished in eastern India during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, marking the last great phase of Buddhist art (750 CE to mid-twelfth century). Centers like Nalanda and Vikramsila illustrated manuscripts of Vajrayana Buddhist deities on palm leaves, spreading Pala art to Southeast Asia, including Nepal and Tibet. Characterized by flowing lines and subdued colors, Pala paintings contrast with Jain art’s terse lines. The tradition ended with the Pala dynasty’s decline due to Muslim invasions in the thirteenth century.
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