Learning Objective
- Western Indian School of Painting
- Pala School of Painting
Chitrasutra in Vishnudharmottara Purana (5th century):
- Source for Indian art and painting.
- Discusses image-making (pratima lakshana) and techniques like tools, materials, surfaces, and perspective.
- Explains limbs of painting: roopbheda (appearance), pramana (proportion), bhava (expressions), lavanya yojana (composition), sadrishya (resemblance), and varnikabhanga (use of colors).
Medieval Paintings:
- Miniature paintings are named for their small size and handheld nature.
- Murals decorated walls; miniatures were not meant for walls.
Manuscript Illustrations:
- Pictorial translations of epics, literary, and music texts with handwritten verses.
- Thematic sets, e.g., Ramayana, Bhagavata Purana, Mahabharata, stored as bundles in libraries.
Colophon Page:
- Provided information about the patron, artist, date, and place.
- Often missing, requiring scholars to attribute details.
Challenges:
- Paintings are fragile, subject to damage and dispersal.
- Paintings traveled and were exchanged as gifts or dowry.
- History reconstruction is difficult due to missing folios and incomplete sets in museums and collections.
Western Indian School of Painting:
Thrived in Gujarat, southern Rajasthan, and western Central India.
Merchant class, especially Jains, were key patrons due to trade wealth.
Jain painting developed through support of shaastradaan (donation of books to monasteries).
Jain School of Painting:
- Prominent themes: Kalpasutra (lives of 24 Tirthankaras), Kalakacharyakatha, Sangrahini Sutra, and Uttaradhyana Sutra.
- Early paintings were on palm leaves, transitioning to paper by the 14th century.
Characteristics of Jain Paintings:
- Divided spaces in folios with text and paintings.
- Bright colors, thin lines, depictions of textile patterns, and simplified architectural elements.
- Influences of Sultanate art in architectural designs.
Evolution (1350-1450):
- Shift from iconic representation to lively depictions of landscapes, dance, and music.
- Use of gold and lapis lazuli indicating patron wealth.
- Tirthipatas, Mandalas, and secular stories also painted for Jains.
Indigenous Style (Pre-Mughal/Pre-Rajasthani):
- Represented Hindu and Jain themes (Mahapurana, Bhagvata Purana, etc.).
- Notable for transparent fabrics and hatchings for water and horizon.
Sultanate School of Painting:
- Emerged from Persian, Turkic, and Afghan influences in Malwa, Gujarat, Jaunpur.
- Hybrid style combining indigenous and Persian features (e.g., Nimatnama at Mandu).
- Sufi-inspired stories also gained favor, such as Laurchanda paintings.
Pala School of Painting
Pala Period (750 CE – mid-12th century):
- Last great phase of Buddhist art in India.
- Monasteries like Nalanda and Vikramsila were key centers for Buddhist learning and art.
Art and Manuscripts:
- Illustrated manuscripts featured Vajrayana Buddhist deities on palm leaves.
- Workshops in monasteries produced bronze images and manuscripts.
- Pala art spread to Nepal, Tibet, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Java through students and pilgrims.
Characteristics of Pala Paintings:
- Flowing and sinuous lines with subdued color tones.
- Similar sculptural and painterly language to Ajanta.
Notable Work:
- Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita manuscript (Bodleian Library, Oxford) with six illustrated pages, painted at Nalanda in the 11th century.
Decline of Pala Art:
- Weakened due to Muslim invasions, leading to the destruction of monasteries and the end of Pala art by the 13th century.
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