QUES 1. WHAT IS AN ART ?

ART has not always been what we think it is today. An object regarded as Art today may
not have been perceived as such when it was first made, nor was the person who made it
necessarily regarded as an artist. Both the notion of "art" and the idea of the "artist" are
relatively modern terms.

Many of the objects we identify as art today -- Greek painted pottery, medieval manuscript
illuminations, and so on -- were made in times and places when people had no concept of
"art" as we understand the term. These objects may have been appreciated in various ways
and often admired, but not as "art" in the current sense.

ART lacks a satisfactory definition. It is easier to describe it as the way something is done --
"the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or
experiences that can be shared with others" (Britannica Online) -- rather than what it is.
The idea of an object being a "work of art" emerges, together with the concept of the Artist,
in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy.

During the Renaissance, the word Art emerges as a collective term encompassing
Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, a grouping given currency by the Italian artist and
biographer Giorgio Vasari in the 16th century. Subsequently, this grouping was expanded to
include Music and Poetry which became known in the 18th century as the 'Fine Arts'. These
five Arts have formed an irreducible nucleus from which have been generally excluded the
'decorative arts' and 'crafts', such as as pottery, weaving, metalworking, and furniture
making, all of which have utility as an end. But how did Art become distinguished from the
decorative arts and crafts? How and why is an artist different from a craftsperson?

In the Ancient World and Middle Ages the word we would translate as 'art' today was
applied to any activity governed by rules. Painting and sculpture were included among a
number of human activities, such as shoemaking and weaving, which today we would call
crafts.

During the Renaissance, there emerged a more exalted perception of art, and a
concomitant rise in the social status of the artist. The painter and the sculptor were now
seen to be subject to inspiration and their activities equated with those of the poet .

In the latter half of the 16th century the first academies of art were founded, first in
Italy, then in France, and later elsewhere. Academies took on the task of educating the artist
through a course of instruction that included such subjects as geometry and anatomy.
 The institutionalizing of art in the academies eventually provoked a reaction to its strictures
and definitions in the 19th century at which time new claims were made about the nature of
painting and sculpture. By the middle of the century, "modernist" approaches were
introduced which adopted new subject matter and new painterly values. In large measure,
the modern artists rejected, or contradicted, the standards and principles of the academies
and the Renaissance tradition. By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th,
artists began to formulate the notion of truth to one's materials, recognizing that paint is
pigment and the canvas a two-dimensional surface.

QUES 2: Critically analyze different dimensions of Hadappan

civilization Art ?

The Harappan Civilization

by Tarini J. Carr

Some several thousand years ago there once thrived a civilization in the Indus Valley.
Located in what's now Pakistan and western India, it was the earliest known urban culture
of the Indian subcontinent. (1) The Indus Valley Civilization, as it is called, covered an area
the size of western Europe. It was the largest of the four ancient civilizations of Egypt,
Mesopotamia, India and China. However, of all these civilizations the least is known about
the Indus Valley people. This is because the Indus script has not yet been deciphered.
There are many remnants of the script on pottery vessels, seals, and amulets, but without a
"Rosetta Stone" linguists and archaeologists have been unable to decipher it.

They have then had to rely upon the surviving cultural materials to give them insight into the
life of the Harappan's. (2) Harappan's are the name given to any of the ancient people
belonging to the Indus Valley civilization. This article will be focusing mainly on the two
largest cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, and what has
been discovered there.

The discovery of the Indus Valley civilization was first recorded

in the 1800's by the British. The first recorded note was by a
British army deserter, James Lewis, who was posing as an
American engineer in 1826. He noticed the presence of
mounded ruins at a small town in Punjab called Harappa.
Because Harappa was the first city found, sometimes any of
the sites are called the Harappan civilization.

Alexander Cunningham, who headed the Archaeological Survey of India,

visited this site in 1853 and 1856 while looking for the cities that had been
visited by Chinese pilgrims in the Buddhist period. The presence of an
ancient city was confirmed in the following 50 years, but no one had any
idea of its age or importance. By 1872 heavy brick robbing had virtually
destroyed the upper layers of the site. The stolen bricks were used to build
houses and particularly to build a railway bed that the British were
constructing. Alexander Cunningham made a few small excavations at the
site and reported some discoveries of ancient pottery, some stone tools, and a stone seal.
Cunningham published his finds and it generated some increased interest by scholars.

It wasn't till 1920 that excavations began in earnest at Harappa. John

Marshall, then the director of the Archaeological Survey of India, started
a new excavation at Harappa. Along with finds from another
archaeologist, who was excavating at Mohenjo Daro, Marshall believed
that what they had found gave evidence of a new civilization that was
older than any they had known. (3)

Major excavations had not been carried out for

forty years until 1986 when the late George Dales of the
Êniversity of California at Berkeley established the Harappan Archaeological Project, or
HARP. This multidisciplinary study effort consists of archaeologists, linguists, historians, and
physical anthropologists. Since the establishment of HARP, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer has
served as co-director and field director of the project. Kenoyer was born in Shillong, India,
and spent most of his youth there. He went on to receive his advanced degrees from the
Êniversity of California at Berkeley. He is now a professor of Anthropology at the Êniversity
of Wisconsin-Madison, and teaches archaeology and ancient technologies. Kenoyer's main
focus has been on the Indus Valley civilization's where he has conducted research for the
last 23 years. Ever since he was a young graduate student, Kenoyer was particularly
interested in ancient technology. He has done a great deal of work in trying to replicate
processes used by ancient people in the production of jewelry and pottery. One of his first
efforts in replicating shell bangle making was then co-authored with George Dales and
published in an article. His doctorate studies were based upon this research, and his
dissertation is a milestone in the field of experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology,
besides being the definitive study of Harappan shell working. (4)

Today, Kenoyer is assisted by co-director Richard Meadow of Harvard

Êniversity and Rota Wright of New York Êniversity (A. C.I.V.C. Kenoyer
preface) Kenoyer uses a contextual archaeological approach. His work is
characterized by the use of cold evidence to draw the outlines of this
ancient civilization.

Although , Harappa was undoubtedly occupied previously, it was

between 2600-1900 B.C. that it reached its height of economic expansion
and urban growth. Radio carbon dating, along with the comparison of artifacts and pottery
has determined this date for the establishment of Harappa and other Indus cities. This
began what is called the golden age of Harappa. During this time a great increase in craft
technology, trade, and urban expansion was experienced. For the first time in the history of
the region, there was evidence for many people of different classes and occupations living
together. Between 2800-2600 B.C. called the Kot Diji period, Harappa grew into a thriving
economic center. It expanded into a substantial sized town, covering the area of several
large shopping malls. Harappa, along with the other Indus Valley cities, had a level of
architectural planning that was unparralled in the ancient world. (5) The city was laid out in a
grid-like pattern with the orientation of streets and buildings according to the cardinal
directions. To facilitate the access to other neighborhoods and to segregate private and
public areas, the city and streets were particularly organized. The city had many drinking
water wells, and a highly sophisticated system of waste removal. All Harappan houses were
equipped with latrines, bathing houses, and sewage drains which emptied into larger mains
and eventually deposited the fertile sludge on surrounding agricultural fields. It has been
surprising to archaeologists that the site layouts and artifact styles throughout the Indus
region are very similar. It has been concluded these indicate that there was uniform
economic and social structure within these cities. (6)

Other indicators of this is that the bricks used to build at these Indus cities are all uniform in
size. It would seem that a standard brick size was developed and used throughout the Indus
cities. Besides similar brick size standard weights are seen to have been used throughout
the region as well. (7) The weights that have been recovered have shown a remarkable
accuracy. They follow a binary decimal system: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, up to 12,800 units, where
one unit weighs approximately 0.85 grams. Some of the weights are so tiny that they could
have been used by jewelers to measure precious metals. ( 8)

Ever since the discovery of Harappa, archaeologists have been trying to identify the rulers
of this city. What has been found is very surprising because it isn't like the general pattern
followed by other early urban societies. It appears that the Harappan and other Indus rulers
governed their cities through the control of trade and religion, not by military might. It is an
interesting aspect of Harappa as well as the other Indus cities that in the entire body of
Indus art and sculpture there are no monuments erected to glorify, and no depictions of
warfare or conquered enemies. ( 9) It is speculated that the rulers might have been wealthy
merchants, or powerful landlords or spiritual leaders. Whoever these rulers were it has been
determined that they showed their power and status through the use of seals and fine
jewelry.
Seals are one of the most commonly found objects in Harappan cities. They are decorated
with animal motifs such as elephants, water buffalo, tigers, and most commonly unicorns.
Some of these seals are inscribed with figures that are prototypes to later Hindu religious
figures, some of which are seen today. For example, seals have been recovered with the
repeated motif of a man sitting in a yogic position surrounded by animals. This is very
similar to the Hindu god of Shiva, who is known to have been the friend of the animals and
sat in a yogic position. These seals are known as the Shiva seals. Other images of a male
god have been found, thus indicating the beginnings of Shiva worship, which continues to
be practiced today in India. (10)

This is an interesting point because of the accepted notion of an

Aryan invasion. If Aryan's had invaded the Indus Valley, conquered
the people, and imposed their own culture and religion on them, as
the theory goes, it would seem unlikely that there would a
continuation of similar religious practices up to the present. There is
evidence throughout Indian history to indicate that Shiva worship has
continued for thousands of years without disruption. [cf. harappan cultural continuity]

The Aryan's were supposed to have destroyed many of the ancient cities right around 1500
B.C., and this would account for the decline of the Indus civilization. However the continuity
of religious practices makes this unlikely, and other more probable explanations for the
decline of the Harappan civilization have been proposed in recent years; such as climate
shifts which caused great droughts around 2200 B.C., and forced the abandonment of the
Indus cities and pushed a migration westward. Recent findings have shown that the
Sumerian empire declined sharply at this time due to a climate shift that caused major
droughts for several centuries. (11) The Harappans being so close to Sumer, would in all
probability have been affected by this harsh shift in climate.

Many of the seals also are inscribed with short pieces of the Indus script.
These seals were used in order to show the power of the rulers. Each seal
had a name or title on it, as well as an animal motif that is believed to
represent what sort of office or clan the owner belonged to. The seals of
the ancient Harappan's were probably used in much the same way they
are today, to sign letters or for commercial transactions. The use of these seals declined
when the civilization declined.

In 2001 Kenoyer's excavations unearthed a workshop that manufactured seals and

inscribed tablets. This was significant in that combined with the last 16 years of excavations,
it provided a new chronology for the development of the Indus script. Previously, the tablets
and seals were all grouped together, but now Kenoyer has been able to demonstrate that
the various types of seals and tablets emerged at different times. The writing on the seals
and tablets might have changed as well through the years. Kenoyer as well as others are
trying to conclude when the dates of the script changes were. The revision of this
chronology may greatly aid in the decipherment of the script. (12) There has been attempts
at deciphering this script, and the results are not widely agreed upon, and its still a point of
controversy.

The ruling elite controlled vast trade networks with Central Asia, and Oman, importing raw
materials to urban workshops. There is even evidence of trade with Mesopotamia, for
Harappan seals and jewelry have been found there. Harappa, along with other Indus cities,
established their economic base on agriculture produce and livestock, supplemented by the
production of and trade of commodities and craft items. Raw materials such as carnelian,
steatite, and lapis lazuli were imported for craft use. In exchange for these goods, such
things as livestock, grains, honey and clarified butter may have been given. However, the
only remains are those of beads, ivory objects and other finery. What is known about the
Harappan's is that they were very skilled artisans, making beautiful objects out of bronze,
gold, silver, terracotta, glazed ceramic, and semiprecious stones. The most exquisite
objects were often the most tiny. Many of the Indus art objects are small, displaying and
requiring great craftsmanship.

The majority of artifacts recovered at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro have been that of crafted
objects. Jonathan Kenoyer has been working to recreate many of the craft technologies
used by these people. He has successfully recreated the process by which the Harappan's
created faience. The process of creating faience ceramics is very complex and technical. It
requires such processes as the grinding and partial melting of quartz, fusion aids, and a
consistent high temperature of 940 Celsius. A discovery in 2001 of a faience producing
workshop revealed that the type of kiln used was very different from what they had thought.
As no kiln was discovered in the workshop, Kenoyer suspected that the ancient crafts
people had used a kiln assembled from two firing containers. This formed a smaller kiln that
was unlike the usual large firing containers. Along with some of his students Kenoyer
replicated the process of creating faience using similar tools that the Harappan's had. The
result was similar to that of the Harappan's. This showed that the canister-kiln type was a
very efficient way of producing faience. (13) Interestingly , Kenoyer has noticed that many of
the same firing techniques and production procedures are used today in India and Pakistan
as they were thousands of years ago. This is another point indicating that there was a
continuity in culture that has been mostly unchanged for thousands of years.

The late George F. Dales, who was a long time mentor of Kenoyer's and established HARP,
has said regarding the Aryan invasion theory:

"Nine years of extensive excavations at Mohenjo-Daro ( which seems to have been rapidly
abandoned) have yielded a total of some 37 skeletons which can be attributed to the Indus
period. None of these skeletons were found in the area of the fortified citadel, where
reasonably the last defense of this city would have taken place." He further states that
"Despite extensive excavations at the largest Harappan sites, there is not a single bit of
evidence that can be brought forth as unconditional proof of an armed conquest and
destruction on the scale of the supposed Aryan invasion."
(14)

The skeletal remains found at Harappan sites that date

from 4,000 years ago, show the same basic racial types as
are found today in Gujarat and Punjab, India. This is
interesting, because if a foreign light-skinned people
entered and took over, it would seem likely that there would be genetic evidence for this.
The long continuity of ethnic groups in this region would indicate that the people living there
had not seen an influx of a different ethic group that would have mixed with their own. (15)

After 700 years the Harappan cities began to decline. This is generally attributed to the
invasion of a foreign people. However, it now believed by Kenoyer and many other
archaeologists that the decline of the Indus cities was a result of many factors, such as
overextended political and economic networks, and the drying up major rivers. These all
contributed to the rise of a new social order. There is archaeological evidence that around
the late Harappan phase, from 1900-1300 B.C. the city was not being maintained and was
getting crowded. This suggests that the rulers had were no longer able to control the daily
functioning of the city. Having lost authority, a new social order rose up. Although certain
aspects of the elites culture, seals with motifs and pottery with Indus script on it,
disappeared, the Indus culture was not lost. (16) It is seen that in the cities that sprung up in
the Ganga and Yamuna river valleys between 600-300 B.C., that many of their cultural
aspects can be traced to the earlier Indus culture. The technologies, artistic symbols,
architectural styles, and aspects of the social organization in the cities of this time had all
originated in the Indus cities. (17) This is another fact that points to the idea that the Aryan
invasion did not happen. The Indus cities may have declined, for various reasons, but their
culture continued on in the form of technology, artistic and religious symbols, and city
planning. Êsually, when a people conquer another they bring with them new ideas and
social structures. It would seem that if indeed Aryan's invaded India, then there would be
evidence of a completely different sort of religion, craft making, significant changes in art
and social structure. But none of this has been found. There appears to be an underlying
continuity in the culture of India, and what changes have occurred are due to largely internal
factors. This is an idea shared by many prominent archaeologists, such as Kenoyer, George
Dales, Jim Shaffer, and Colin Renfrew.

The Aryan's are supposed to have brought the Vedic culture to India. These people and
their literature is believed to have then originated after the decline of the Indus Valley
civilizations. The Vedas have been dated as being written some time after the Aryan's
supposedly invaded, somewhere between 1500-1200 B.C. Many of the Indus sites have
been found along the banks of the now dried up Sarasvati river. This river is mentioned
throughout the Vedas (18) Recent geological investigations has shown that the Sarasvati
was once a very large river (as well as satellite photos of the indus-sarasvati river basin),
but dried up around 1900 B. C. due to tectonic movements. (19) The Vedas, however speak
of the Sarasvati as a very large and flowing river. If the dating of the Vedic literature is
correct, than there is a discrepancy because the Sarasvati river dried up before the Vedas
were supposed to have been written. This is an interesting situation. It might seem possible
then, that with other evidence showing that there was no influx of an invading people, that
the Vedas were then written by the people of the Indus
Valley.

Another point that might indicate the Harappan's being a

Vedic culture is the discovery of fire altars at several Indus
sites. Fire rituals and sacrifice were an important part of
Vedic religious practices. But what was significant about
these alters, is that they were aligned and constructed in the
same manner as later discovered altars were. The fire altars
were then Vedic in construction indicating that the
Harappan's were a Vedic culture.

The idea that there wasn't in fact an Aryan invasion is supported on many levels, as I have
tried to demonstrate. Even today, it is seen in India the legacy of these Indus cities in the
traditional arts and crafts, and in the layout of houses and settlements. If there really was an
invasion of a people that completely obliterated this other culture, then the many striking
similarities we see today in the continuity of Indian culture is certainly most curious. The
remains of the Indus civilization are enormous, and most of them are yet to be excavated.
There are whole cites that have yet to be excavated, like the largest known Indus culture
site of Ganweriwala, in the Cholistan desert of Pakistan. No doubt the continuing
excavations will lend more insight into the world of this enigmatic civilization

QUES 3: How do you find that Mauryan art is significant in modern

time ?

Influenced Mauryan sculpture and architecture.

The finest examples are those of Ashoka particularly his monolithic pillars. Each pillar
consists of one piece of stone supporing a capital made of another single piece of stone.
The stone is highly polished and gracefully proportioned while the polish was lustrous. Even
this polish pales into insignificance before the high artistic merits of the figures that exhibit
realistic modeling. The four lions on the Sarnath pillars and the smaller figures of animals in
relief of the abacus exhibit remarkable beauty and vitour. The jewellery of the Mauryan
period also exhibits a high degree of technical skill and proficiency.

The inscriptions of Ashoka were placed either in sacred enclosures or in the vicinity of
towns. The most commonly found remains are the animal capitals of the pillars. They were
generally cut from a single block of stone and stood in an enclosure, which was regarded as
sacred.Stones from the regions of Mathura and Chunar near Benaras were carried to
different parts of the empire because of improvement in communications. Not only stones
were sent but even craftsman accompanied them. The uniformity of style in the pillar
capitals suggests that they were all sculpted by craftsmen of the same region. Only at
Taxila, possibly the local craftsmen were employed.

Apart from the monolithic pillars, Ashoka built a large number of Stupas. Traditions puts
their number as 84,000. Some of them were later enlarged and enclosed. Possibly the
Stupa and Sanchi dates back to Ashoka. According to Sir John Marshall the oringinal birck
stupa built by Ashoka was probably of more than half the present dimension. The present
railing also replaced the older and smaller one.

A few Mauryan figure sculpture have come to light - identifiable by the Mauryan polished
surface. Two headless metal torsos have been found at a site near modern Patna. They are
the earliest known sculptures of Jain Tirthankaras. Perhaps the figures of Yakshi and
Yaksha found at Didarganj and Patna respectively belong to the Mauryan period. These
figures seem to be emerging into reality from a melting volume of stone. They have smooth
glossy faces, but they have meticulously carved details of of jewels and fabrics. Some
scholars think that they were the best of Mauryan products.

The last Mauryan / Sunga figure is that of the eight feet high image fouind at Parkham near
Mathura. It is made out of cream sandstone. A bolt from Rampurva (2 feet in length and
barrel shaped) is an excellent specimen of the copper-smiths' art.

A more important heritage of the Mauyas are the caves built out of Barbar caves. They were
built for the Ajivika sect by Asoka. They are 19 miles away from Bodh Gaya. Smith records
the art of of polishing hard stone was carried to such perfection that it is said to have
become a lost art beyond modern powers. The two sites of Barabar caves are polished like
glass mirrors. The two widely know wood-imitating chambers are the Lomas Rishi and
Sudama caves. The details of these caves show a clear influence of wooden architecture.
These rock-cut chambers mark the beginning of great tradition which would spent more
than 1000 year in the history of Indian Art.

The earliest examples of the rock-cut method like some aspect of the Lomas Rishi caves in
Barabar show that they were faithful copies of the stone structure of wood and thatch. The
use of bamboo in roof construction is to be seen in the Gopi cave during the reign of
Dasaratha.Contemporary Greek writers refer magnificent halls in the capital city of
Patliputara and regard them as the fines and grandest in the world. All of them have
perished but in recent times axcavations have laid bare their ruins. The excant of
architectural remains consists mainly of the rock-cut chaitya halls in Barabar halsls and the
neighboring localities in the Bihar Sub-division of Patna district. Althouth the caves were
excavated from hardest rocks they are polished like glass.

Terracota objects of various sizes have been found at Mauryan sties. The tradition of
making mother-goddesses in clay, going back to the prehistoric period is revealed by the
discovery of these objects at Mauryan levelsat Ahicchatra. Many have stylized forms but
technically they are most accomplished in the sense they have well defined shapes and
clear ornamentation. Also, a large number of terracotta's have been found near Taxila
consisting of primitive idols, votive reliefs with deities, toys, dice, ornaments and beeds.
Toys were mostly wild animals, the elephant being a particular favorite.Despite the
extraordinary creations in the field of art and intriguing questions remains. The artist of
Ashoka must have relied on a long history of artistic traditions. How is it then that we came
explain the almost total absence of specimen of Indian art before 250 B.C. ? we have to
wait for this answer to be provided by archaeologists. So far, there is no evidence that the
art tradition of the Indus valley had any kind of impact on the Mauryan achievements. Indian
artist of the Pre-Mauryan period possibly worked both on stone and wood. The stone art
effects have not been excavated so far. We many suppose Indians first began to work on
stones during the Mauryan period. The results of their endeavor to change from wood to
stone are seen in the crude inferior pillars of Ashoka, while those which are excellent and
highly finished were the works of foreign artists employed by the great emperor. According
to this theory this trend continued long after Ashoka until a full-fledged Indian art was
developed under the imperil Guptas.

QUES4 Do you think Ajanta painting is the classic example of world

art.?

The Ajanta µcaves¶ are in fact rock cut viharas and chaitya grihas, excavated over centuries
from the side of a ravine locate in a remote spot in the uplands of present day Maharashtra.
The site, though remote, was on an important trade route. Its isolation made it ideal as a
monastic retreat, while the merchants who frequented the roads became a source of
patronage and revenue. The rock-cut structures, and the paintings decorating them, were
created in two phases, Hinayana and Mahayana over a period of about six hundred years.
The greatest period of creativity seems to have occurred during the reign of the Vakataka
monarch Harishena (460-78).

Iconography

The murals form a unique record of life in classical India. In fact, given their very wide range
of subject matter, they are the most extensive record of any ancient civilisation yet found,
beside which the paintings of Egypt or Pompeii seem limited indeed. Many are surprised at
their distinctly worldly content. The monks who lived there were dedicated to a life of
contemplation and prayer (the halls are extraordinary musical instruments, reverberating
and resonating with the sounds of chanting). However, this view is based on prejudice from
religions from outside the Indian world where there has never been a separation of sacred
and secular, of man and nature. In fact many of the paintings are narratives of jataka
stories, (previous lives of the Buddha), so encompass every aspect of life. Others depict the
life of the Buddha himself, while some portray cult images, including Boddhisatvas. What
lends the murals an extra frisson is the fashion of the time; both sexes are scantily clad, the
women often bare-breasted.
Style and technique

The Ajanta murals exhibit a series of styles, from the earliest (1st century BCE) to the latest.
However, they all show the characteristics of classical Indian painting. As prescribe in texts
like the Vishnudharmottara, they were carried out using glue paint made from natural gums
on a thick support of plaster mixed with vegetable fibre, to allow expansion and contraction
in different levels of humidity. Figures were outlined with thin brush strokes, first in dull red;
local colours were applied with extremely subtle shading, usually with the highlights in the
middle of the form and the darker tones on the outside, giving an effect of very shallow
relief, occasionally enhanced in the case of jewellery, for example, with actual modelling in
plaster. The body forms used were conceptual, not naturalistic. The classical Indian artist
did not paint what they saw, but poetic analogies to natural forms. Thus the shoulders of a
figure would resemble the brow of an elephant; the arms would curve like creepers; the
eyes might be fish shaped, the lips like buds. Never were muscles or bone protuberances
even suggested. Played off against the smooth, flower-or vegetable-like surfaces were
restrained, usually pearl, items of jewellery, carefully coiffured hair, silk garment with
printed patterns, flower and leaf ornaments. In fact so elegant are some of the figures that
they give the impression almost of fashion designs. According to the precepts of the
painting manuals, this was one of the elements which the painter was expected to be expert
in, while his first aim was to tell the story, the level at which the most unsophisticated would
view his work. Connoisseurs would appreciate the colour schemes, and savour the moods
which the artist¶s work suggested. Professionals, however, would look critically at the
drawing skills they showed, and the construction of forms and composition. These latter
elements were, surprisingly, strictly controlled by mathematical techniques also described
by the texts and still used today, in modified form, by Tibetan artists. It is extremely difficult
to construct good figures using these methods, and in fact copy books are published even
today with geometric diagrams showing how to do it. They were evidently used by sculptors
as well; some of the figures on reliefs from Amaravati closely resemble others from Ajanta
murals. These techniques were taken throughout the Indian world by Buddhist missionaries.
Schematic diagrams very similar to the Tibetan examples have been found in Japan and
China, for instance.
One of the most important element in any Indian work of art is bhava, or mood. This is as
true today of Mumbai and Tamil movies, in which there is always a good variety of erotic,
heroic, humourous and occasionally compassionate or peaceful scenes, as it was of the
Ajanta murals, which in some ways resemble them. However, these being on the wall of
Buddhist viharas, the predominant moods are usually shanti (peace), with a good deal of
duhkha (sorrow) included, and a certain element of sringeri (erotic love). Sometimes,
however, vira (valour) is evinced, as the few battle scenes, or bibhatsa (disgust), for
example at a basket full of severed heads

Q5: Discuss the foreign and local impact n Mughal Painting.?

-

   

The Near East has always been an area of tremendous cultural transfer. Situated at the
crossroads between China and India, eastern Europe, and the eastern Mediterranean
region, Persia has been subject to the influences of mobilized groups from all directions.
Each foreign group to pass through Persia has contributed to the historical epic of triumph
and defeat which is Persia's history.

After the paced social and technological growth of the Bronze and Iron ages, Persia began
a new historical chapter as a global actor when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid
dynasty in 550 BCE. Between 550 and 330 BCE, the Achaemenid dynasty grew to
incorporate all the territory from the Indus river to the Nile. Based in Persia, this dynasty
grew into a major political power which rivaled Greece. Zoroastranism, a religion of local
origin which focused upon the importance of celestial and terrestrial balance, was the
sanctioned religion. The Achaemenid reign ended when Alexander the Great conquered the
region in 330 BCE. Alexander became enamored with Persian culture and to creating
cultural exchange between the fortified Greek and Persian cultures, though his successors
were more concerned with the economic and political benefits of maintaining control of the
region. The Selucids succeeded Alexander. Their control lasted only until 248 BCE, at
which time they were expelled by the Parthians, a semi nomadic group from northern
Persia.

The Parthians were ousted after only twenty years' reign by the Sasanians. As native
Persians, the Sasanians took pride in reclaiming their homeland from foreign rule. They
established an extremely stable empire, maintaining control of Persia from 224 BCE until
650 CE. Sasanian culture flourished amidst a high degree of political stability and cultural
growth. Poetry and science flourished as the empire expanded eastward. China and Greece
were engaged in trade with the Sasanians, and artistic patronage bloomed in this time of
plenitude. Artistic influences from China and Greece blended with local Persian traditions,
which contributed to the artistic vocabulary used in Persia for centuries to come.
The Sasanians were periodically engaged in war with Byzantium. This contributed to a
gradual decay of the former dynasty. Arab invaders capitalized upon this weakness as they
swept through the region in the seventh century. The Sasanians were defeated by Arabs in
637 CE. Islam spread quickly through the Arab world, through modern Turkey, Iran and
Iraq. Regional instability from conflicting tribes gave the Muslims an advantage in spreading
their culture throughout the Near East, creating a large sphere of Islamic influence before
the end of the seventh century.

Islam was brought to Persia after a dramatic military defeat by a people who were largely
nomadic. The Arab invaders had yet to establish their own cultural traditions; the religion
itself was newly born, and their pre-Islamic cultures had not included a developed literary or
artistic heritage. Islamic culture was highly permeable to aspects of Persian style and artistic
tradition in the first centuries of the Islamic period, though Persian art forms were greatly
modified by new Islamic values. There was a tendency away from figurative depiction and
toward ornament and decoration in Islamic art, though Persian aesthetics continued to
provide a cultural standard for the region. Persian culture became inextricably linked with
Islam as the Muslim empire expanded eastward and westward. By the end of the first
millennium, Islam had become a dominant religion not only in the Near East but through
Spain, Turkey, and India.

The Seljuq dynasty was established in 1037, under which a succession of powerful Persian
leaders presided over a century of cultural renaissance. This age succeeded in fusing Islam
and Persian culture into a nationalistic expression of Persian identity. However, by the end
of the twelfth century, the Seljuq dynasty had weakened in a series of assaults along the
eastern frontier. The cultural and political fortitude of the previous age had begun a slow
decay. Power structures broke down over the next thirty years until the Mongols came
flooding into Persia from the east in 1220. The region was quickly gripped by warfare and
brutality. Mongol invaders systematically destroyed repositories of local culture, targeting
libraries and mosques. Very little Persian art remains from before the thirteenth century; no
manuscripts or paintings are known to predate the Mongol invasion. Scholars were
eradicated during a time of unprecedented turbulence. More than a century passed before
Persians could turn their attention to cultural repair and reengage in their pursuit of
scholarship and the arts.

The Mongol influence remained strong in Persia until roughly 1385 BCE. By this time the
region had begun the slow healing process necessary after such a decisive break with
previous culture. A new leadership was desperately needed in Persia which could restore
the collective memory of Persian cultural glory. Some Mongols converted to Islam and
became active contributors to rebuilding Persian culture.
The Timurid, a group of Muslim peoples from Central Asia, invaded Persia in 1385 as part
of a massive military campaign reaching from Turkey to India. In 1398 Timur's army
reached Delhi. He captured the city in a series of brutal raids, bringing the Hindu state under
Muslim rule. Islam would persist in India for 500 years after it was imposed by Timur. The
Timurid dynasty controlled Persia for over a century. After an initial period of destruction
imposed by Timur in his fight for control of Persia, the house of Timur developed into a
strong patron of the arts. The Timurid empire succumbed to Persian culture much like the
Mongols had done 150 years before. The Timurid controlled Persia until the turn of the
sixteenth century. The first age of peace and stability in almost two centuries nurtured
artistic development in Persia. The Timurid became enthusiastic patrons of architecture and
manuscript illustration. Fortunately, several Timurid manuscripts have survived to the
present day, documenting the advanced state of calligraphy, illustration, and illumination in
the early fifteenth century.

The Timurid dynasty remained in power for more than a century until it was displaced by the
Safavid dynasty, a group of native Persian rulers. The Safavid dynasty marks an extremely
important period in Persian history; for the first~time smce the Arab invasion Persia was
united under a native Persian dynasty. The Safavids maintained the generous patronage of
the arts begun by the previous rulers; Islamic culture continued to flourish and gain in
accomplishment. The land was largely peaceful, and Persia experienced a golden age
which lasted through the end of the seventeenth century.

One of the most significant Safavid accomplishments in the sixteenth century was Persia's
eastward expansion into northern India. Zahirud-din Muhammad Babar, a Persian ruler from
the province of Ferghana, initiated the eastward expansion and became the first ruler of the
Mughal court. Babar was descended from Timur of the Timurid Dynasty. He assumed
leadership of Ferghana when he was only eleven years old. However, the Êzbek, a tribal
people, presented a political obstacle to Babar's reign. They forced him to flee to Kabul,
leaving his homeland. After trying in vain to recover his native country from Êzbek
domination, he tumed his attention eastward. Babar resigned himself to moving eastward
and establishing himself in Hindustan once it became to clear that he would not recover his
native land. 14 Babar felt a proprietary right to the lands of northern and western India which
had been conquered over a century before by Timur. In 1526 Babar defeated Sultan
Ibrahim Lodi at Delhi and founded the Mughal Dynasty. Babar died only four years later, in
1530, at the age of forty-seven.

Babar's eldest son Humayun succeeded him to the throne. He had been raised by his father
as an appreciative patron of the arts and focused special attention on enlarging the royal
manuscript collection. However, Humayun was not a warrior or a strategist. Parthan
invaders defeated Humayun's army in 1540, ousting him from India. The next decade was
characterized by political instability and territorial skirmishes. Humayun's son Akbar, born in
1542, was actually raised by the Persian emperor Shah Tahmsap's family while Humayun
attempted to restore order to his own ruling house. This alliance proved doubly beneficial for
Humayun. Growing up in the cosmopolitan Safavid capital, Akbar received the best possible
education in the arts and leadership. Akbar's father also had the good fortune to lure Mir
Musawwir and Mir Sayyid 'Ali, two of the most accomplished artists in Shah Tahmsap's
royal painting studio, back to the Mughal court at Kabul in 1549. These Safavid court artists
were instrumental in the development of the Mughal aesthetic.

Akbar assumed power in 1556, quickly establishing himself as a highly capable leader and
a strong patron of the arts. He sought peace in his kingdom, instituting a policy of tolerance
for all people regardless of religious affiliation. The Hindu population embraced him as a
benevolent leader, and his capital at Agra drew scholars from all parts of India and the
Muslim world. Akbar's court encouraged artistic excellence and innovation. Artists began
signing their work with greater frequency at this time. From studies of these signatures it
has been surmised that approximately 80% of the painters in Akbar's imperial studio were
Hindu. These artists brought their own artistic traditions and visual vocabulary with them to
the Mughal court. Hindu and Jain painting tended to be more brightly colored and less
highly-detailed than Safavid painting. The Mughal paintings created in this cosmopolitan
atmosphere represent a great synthesis of Persian, European, and Hindi painting styles.

Akbar was an avid supporter of portraiture, commissioning many images of himself and his
family at all stages of life. One of the major innovations of Mughal art was the development
of a unique genre of portraiture. Never before in Safavid art had the portrait been employed
as an independent genre. However, in the early years of the Mughal dynasty, portraiture
became one of the most popular types of painting. Although illustrated texts of famous
literary works such as the Shahnama remained in demand at this time, there was a new
emphasis on commissioning portraits, ornithological studies, and individual paintings to be
mounted together in personal albums. This had a profound impact on the future of both
Persian and Mughal art.

Akbar's death in 1605 brought control of the extensive Mughal empire to his son Salim.
Êpon ascending the throne, Salim took the name Jahangir, meaning 'world-seizer.' Jahangir
had inherited his father's taste for the arts as well as his empire, and quickly established
himself as another great Mughal patron. Jahangir commissioned numerous portraits and
natural history studies. He encouraged his the artists in the imperial studio to adopt
particular specialties, and reduced the number of artists under his employment. Those
artists turned loose by the court were likely in great demand in the many provincial
workshops springing up in the larger Indian cities to cater to the patronage of provincial of
ficials or to Hindu courts.
Jahangir was succeeded by his son Shah Jahan in 1627. He was not an avid arts patron as
his father and grandfather had been, but he had numerous portraits made of himself and his
family as befitted an emperor. Shah Jahan reigned without incident for thirty years, raising
his four sons in the comfort of the court. However, the end of Shah Jahan's reign introduced
a note of turbulence to the Mughal ruling house. He became ill in 1657, and though he
recovered, his son Aurangzeb proclaimed himself emperor. He then proceeded to imprison
his father and kill his brother Dara Sikoh to avoid contention for the throne.

Mughal influence had been more strongly felt in northern India than in southern India
through the sixteenth century. Ahmadnagar, a city due east of Bombay, was claimed by the
Mughals in 1600 during the last years of Akbar's reign. However, the Deccani plains of
southem India remained under Hindu leadership. Aurangzeb was a Muslim fundamentalist
and sought to expand the horizon of the Muslim empire into the Hindu areas of southem
India. Aurangzeb had the support of some independent Muslim states in the Deccan and
proceeded to acquire political and military control of the region. Bijapur and Golcunda
remained under Hindu control until 1686, when Mughal forces permeated the region and
defeated the local population. Aurangreb remained emperor until he was 89 years of age, in
1707.
Aurangzeb was not a patron of the arts and the specialized ateliers of the previous
generation dispersed shortly after he assumed power. Many of the disenfranchised Mughal
artists found work in Hindu courts, which experienced a profusion of growth in the late
seventeenth century. Aurangzeb's reign is generally felt to have signaled the end of the
great age of Mughal painting.

The Mughal dynasty officially came to an end in 1858 when Queen Victoria of Britain
became the Empress of India. By this time, British interests were well established in India.
The East India Company had been chartered over 250 years before, in 1600. Since that
time, British shipping was firmly entrenched in India, importing luxury items such as tea,
precious metals and stones, silk, cotton, and sandalwood. British aristocrats had been
installed in India since the early 17th century. Their presence in a foreign land, coupled with
the rising prevalence of natural history and scientific investigation made these expatriot
Britons eager patrons of Indian artists. The watercolor images of birds in the Minassian
collection were likely commissioned by English patrons living abroad in India in the early
part of the 19th century. Some of these images are painted on Whatman paper, a British
brand. Whatman paper was favored by many European watercolorists in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. It was likely brought to India by English diplomats for their personal
use or to be used for commissions by local Indian artists.

Meanwhile, artistic patronage continued to thrive through the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries in Safavid Persia. The Safavid Shahs Ismael (1501-1524), Tahmsap (1524-1576),
and Abbas I (1589-1627) ruled in times of relative stability and maintained excellent imperial
painting schools. Famous artists such as Riza-i Abbasi and Muzaffar 'Ali were nurtured in
the courts of sixteenth century Tabriz. However, by the eighteenth century, political
instability and invasions from Afghanistan had greatly reduced the strength of the empire.
The rule of Nadir Shah offered a brief retum to an imperial govemment, though the Safavid
regime was too weak to keep Persia unified. The Safavid reign came to an end in 1734.

A time of political instability and invasion followed the fall of the Safavid dynasty, and these
tenuous circumstances detached Persians from the cultural achievements of the previous
era. The Qajar dynasty (1799-1925) reintroduced a degree of stability as it came to power,
though artistic patronage was not as much of a priority as it had been under Safavid rulers.
Qajar rulers did continue to commission elaborate paintings, illuminated calligraphic works,
and decorative arts objects, though they favored very different types of painting than had
been seen before in Persia. By this time western aesthetics had begun to pemmeate the
traditional Persian visual arts. Artists began painting in oil, with an increased awareness of
shading and perspective. Painting branched out in new directions, leaving the days of
courtly miniatures forever behind.

It can be universally stated that the arts flourish in times of political stability and affluence.
The social conditions necessary to support a vital system of patronage were essential for
the creation of miniature paintings, particularly those of the Persian courts and the Mughal
dynasty. Because miniature paintings required many man hours of labor and costly
materials such as fine paper, pure mineral pigments, and gold leaf, an economic climate in
which a measurable segrnent of the population could invest its money in patronage was
essential for the success of the art form. The royal court was the primary patron of miniature
painting, though in times of stability provincial officials would follow the imperial lead and
commission paintings for themselves. However, the end of the imperial age also brought an
end to the art form which had expressed its sensibilities with such eloquence. We are
fortunate to have inherited so many of these precious images from their creators, as the
circumstances in which they were produced will likely never be revisited.

å

   

The Mughals - descendants of Timur and Genghiz Khan with strong cultural ties to the
Persian world - seized political power in north India in 1526 and became the most important
artistically active Muslim dynasty on the subcontinent. In this richly illustrated book, Dr Milo
Beach shows how, between 1555 and 1630 in particular, Mughal patronage of the arts was
incessant and radically innovative for the Indian context. The Mughals also profoundly
altered the character of painting in the Hindu areas of north India over which they ruled.
These initially independent territories belonged to Rajputs, Hindus of the warrior caste. The
author reveals how Mughal painting was defined by the styles popular at the imperial court,
whereas Pajput painting consisted of many local court styles, corresponding to the various
Hindu kingdoms, each with different tastes and artistic inspirations. Deeply rooted in Indian
artistic traditions, Rajput paintings were also closely allied to imagery popular with Indian
villagers and to works made for temple use throughout the subcontinent. By reproducing
nearly 200 examples in this study, Milo Beach traces the interplay of the traditions of
Mughal and Rajput painting from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. He demonstrates the
tolerance each showed towards outside influence and change and thus helps to define a
uniquely Indian attitude towards the arts. The author also expands his narrative by listing, in
an appendix, important dated manuscripts and related publications. Mughal and Rajput
Painting makes a major contribution to the study of north Indian painting. This work will be
widely read by students and specialists of art history, Indian history and South Asian studies
as well as by anyone interested in Indian art.

Q6: Draw a comperative analysis between modern Western art and modern Indian art.
Modern Western art history

Western painting.

Pierre Mignard, Clio, muse of heroic poetry and history, 17th century

Western art is the art of European countries, and art created in the forms accepted by those
countries.

Written histories of Western art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, Ancient
Egypt and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC. Parallel with
these significant cultures, art of one form or another existed all over Europe, wherever there
were people, leaving signs such as carvings, decorated artifacts and huge standing stones.
However a consistent pattern of artistic development within Europe becomes clear only with
the art of Ancient Greece, adopted and transformed by Rome and carried; with the Empire,
across much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The influence of the art of the Classical period waxed and waned throughout the next two
thousand years, seeming to slip into a distant memory in parts of the Medieval period, to re-
emerge in the Renaissance, suffer a period of what some early art historians viewed as
"decay" during the Baroque period,[1] to reappear in a refined form in Neo-Classicism and to
be re-born in Post-Modernism.
The other major influence upon Western art has been Christianity, the commissions of the
Church, architectural, painterly and sculptural, providing the major source of work for artists
for about 1400 years, from 300 AD to about 1700 AD. The history of the Church was very
much reflected in the history of art, during this period.

Secularism has influenced Western art since the Classical period, while most art of the last
200 years has been produced without reference to religion and often with no particular
ideology at all. On the other hand, Western art has often been influenced by politics of one
kind or another, of the state, of the patron and of the artist.

Western art is arranged into a number of stylistic periods, which, historically, overlap each
other as different styles flourished in different areas. Broadly the periods are, Classical,
Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern. Each of these is further subdivided.

Ancient Classical art

The art of Ancient Egypt represented the dominant high culture in the Mediterranean and
exerted a strong influence on Minoan art. Egypt was a civilization with very strong traditions
of architecture and sculpture (both originally painted in bright colours) also had many mural
paintings in temples and buildings, and painted illustrations on papyrus manuscripts.
Egyptian wall painting and decorative painting is often graphic, sometimes more symbolic
than realistic. Artists as contemporary as Pablo Picasso have been directly inspired by
Egyptian painting and sculpture. Egyptian painting depicts figures in bold outline and flat
silhouette, in which symmetry is a constant characteristic. Egyptian painting has close
connection with its written language - called Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Egyptians also
painted on linen, remnants of which survive today. In fact painted symbols are found
amongst the first forms of written language, and religion. However it is Ancient Egypt's
mysterious and compelling architecture that has had the most impact on modern art
historians. The Great Pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza, and the smaller pyramids and
tombs of Ancient Egypt are among the Seven Wonders of the World.

To the north of Egypt was the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. The wall paintings
found in the palace of Knossos are similar to those of the Egyptians but much more free in
style. Around 1100 BC, tribes from the north of Greece conquered Greece and the Greek
art took a new direction.
The western side of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens.

Ancient Greece had great painters, great sculptors, and great architects. The Parthenon is
an example of their architecture that has lasted to modern days. Greek marble sculpture is
often described as the highest form of Classical art. Painting on the pottery of Ancient
Greece and ceramics gives a particularly informative glimpse into the way society in Ancient
Greece functioned. Black-figure vase painting and Red-figure vase painting gives many
surviving examples of what Greek painting was. Some famous Greek painters on wooden
panels who are mentioned in texts are Apelles, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, however no
examples of Ancient Greek panel painting survive, only written descriptions by their
contemporaries or by later Romans. Zeuxis lived in 5-6 BC and was said to be the first to
use sfumato. According to Pliny the Elder, the realism of his paintings was such that birds
tried to eat the painted grapes. Apelles is described as the greatest painter of Antiquity for
perfect technique in drawing, brilliant color and modeling.

Bust of Antinous, c. 130 AD

Roman art was influenced by Greece and can in part be taken as a descendant of ancient
Greek painting and sculpture, but was also strongly influenced by the more local Etruscan
art of Italy. Roman sculpture, is primarily portraiture derived from the upper classes of
society as well as depictions of the gods. However, Roman painting does have important
unique characteristics. Among surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings, many from
villas in Campania, in Southern Italy, especially at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Such painting
can be grouped into 4 main "styles" or periods[2] and may contain the first examples of
trompe-l'oeil, pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.[3]

Mummy portrait of a young girl, 2nd century AD, Louvre.

Almost the only painted portraits surviving from the Ancient world are a large number of
coffin-portraits of bust form found in the Late Antique cemetery of Al-Fayum. They give an
idea of the quality that the finest ancient work must have had. A very small number of
miniatures from Late Antique illustrated books also survive, and a rather larger number of
copies of them from the Early Medieval period. Early Christian art grew out of Roman
popular, and later Imperial, art and adapted its iconography from these sources.

Renaissance

Main article: Renaissance art

The Renaissance is characterized by a focus on the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome,
which led to many changes in both the technical aspects of painting and sculpture, as well
as to their subject matter. It began in Italy, a country rich in Roman heritage as well as
material prosperity to fund artists. During the Renaissance, painters began to enhance the
realism of their work by using new techniques in perspective, thus representing three
dimensions more authentically. Artists also began to use new techniques in the
manipulation of light and darkness, such as the tone contrast evident in many of Titian's
portraits and the development of sfumato and chiaroscuro by Leonardo da Vinci. Sculptors,
too, began to rediscover many ancient techniques such as contrapposto. Following with the
humanist spirit of the age, art became more secular in subject matter, depicting ancient
mythology in addition to Christian themes. This genre of art is often referred to as
Renaissance Classicism. In the North, the most important Renaissance innovation was the
widespread use of oil paints, which allowed for greater colour and intensity.

From Gothic to the Renaissance

During the late 13th century and early 14th century, much of the painting in Italy was
Byzantine in Character, notably that of Duccio of Siena and Cimabue of Florence, while
Pietro Cavallini in Rome was more Gothic in style.

In 1290 Giotto began painting in a manner that was less traditional and more based upon
observation of nature. His famous cycle at the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, is seen as the
beginnings of a Renaissance style.

Other painters of the 14th century were carried the Gothic style to great elaboration and
detail. Notable among these painters are Simone Martini and Gentile da Fabriano.

In the Netherlands, the technique of painting in oils rather than tempera, led itself to a form
of elaboration that was not dependent upon the application of gold leaf and embossing, but
upon the minute depiction of the natural world. The art of painting textures with great
realism evolved at this time. Dutch painters such as Jan van Eyck and Hugo van der Goes
were to have great influence on Late Gothic and Early Renaissance painting.

Early Renaissance

The ideas of the Renaissance first emerged in the city-state of Florence. The sculptor
Donatello returned to classical techniques such as contrapposto and classical subjects like
the unsupported nude ² his second sculpture of David was the first free-standing bronze
nude created in Europe since the Roman Empire. The sculptor and architect Brunelleschi
studied the architectural ideas of ancient Roman buildings for inspiration. Masaccio
perfected elements like composition, individual expression, and human form to paint
frescoes, especially those in the Brancacci Chapel, of surprising elegance, drama, and
emotion.
A remarkable number of these major artists worked on different portions of the Florence
Cathedral. Brunelleschi's dome for the cathedral was one of the first truly revolutionary
architectural innovations since the Gothic flying buttress. Donatello created many of its
sculptures. Giotto and Lorenzo Ghiberti also contributed to the cathedral.

High Renaissance
High Renaissance artists include such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo
Buonarroti, and Raffaello Santi.

The 15th-century artistic developments in Italy (for example, the interest in perspectival
systems, in depicting anatomy, and in classical cultures) matured during the 16th century,
accounting for the designations ³Early Renaissance´ for the 15th century and ³High
Renaissance´ for the 16th century. Although no singular style characterizes the High
Renaissance, the art of those most closely associated with this Period²Leonardo daVinci,
Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian²exhibits an astounding mastery, both technical and
aesthetic. High Renaissance artists created works of such authority that generations of later
artists relied on these artworks for instruction. These exemplary artistic creations further
elevated the prestige of artists. Artists could claim divine inspiration, thereby raising visual
art to a status formerly given only to poetry. Thus, painters, sculptors, and architects came
into their own, successfully claiming for their work a high position among the fine arts. In a
sense, 16th- century masters created a new profession with its own rights of expression and
its own venerable character. .

Northern art up to the Renaissance

Early Netherlandish painting developed (but did not strictly invent) the technique of oil
painting to allow greater control in painting minute detail with realism - Jan van Eyck (1366±
1441) was the a figure in the movement from illuminated manuscripts to panel paintings.

Hieronymus Bosch (1450?-1516), a Dutch painter, is another important figure in the

Northern Renaissance. In his paintings, he used religious themes, but combined them with
grotesque fantasies, colourful imagery, and peasant folk legends. His paintings often reflect
the confusion and anguish associated with the end of the Middle Ages.

Albrecht Dürer introduced Italian Renaissance style to Germany at the end of the 15th
century, and dominated German Renaissance art.

Time Period:
 6c Italian Renaissance ² Late 14th century to Early 16th century
6c Northern Renaissance ² 16th century

Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo

Main articles: Mannerism, Baroque, and Rococo

In European art, Renaissance Classicism spawned two different movements² Mannerism

and the Baroque. Mannerism, a reaction against the idealist perfection of Classicism,
employed distortion of light and spatial frameworks in order to emphasize the emotional
content of a painting and the emotions of the painter. The work of El Greco is a particularly
clear example of Mannerism in painting during the late 16th, early 17th centuries. Northern
Mannerism took longer to develop, and was largely a movement of the last half of the 16th
century. Baroque art took the representationalism of the Renaissance to new heights,
emphasizing detail, movement, lighting, and drama in their search for beauty. Perhaps the
best known Baroque painters are Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Diego
Velázquez. A rather different art developed out of northern realist traditions in 17th century
Dutch Golden Age painting, which had very little religious art, and little history painting,
instead playing a crucial part in developing secular genres such as still life, genre paintings
of everyday scenes, and landscape painting. While the Baroque nature of Rembrandt's art
is clear, the label is less use for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque
painting shared a part in this trend, while also continuing to produce the traditional
categories.

Baroque art is often seen as part of the Counter-Reformation² the artistic element of the
revival of spiritual life in the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, the emphasis that
Baroque art placed on grandeur is seen as Absolutist in nature. Louis XIV said, "I am
grandeur incarnate", and many Baroque artists served kings who tried to realize this goal.
However, the Baroque love for detail is often considered overly-ornate and gaudy,
especially as it developed into the even more richly decorated style of Rococo. After the
death of Louis XIV, Rococo flourished for a short while, but soon fell out of favor. Indeed,
disgust for the ornateness of Rococo was the impetus for Neoclassicism.

Time Period:

6c Mannerism ² 16th century

6c Baroque ² 17th century to 18th century
6c Rococo ² Mid-18th century
Modern art
c

Main articles: Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Modern art, and
Modernism

Out of the naturalist ethic of Realism grew a major artistic movement, Impressionism. The
Impressionists pioneered the use of light in painting as they attempted to capture light as
seen from the human eye. Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro,
and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, were all involved in the Impressionist movement. As a direct
outgrowth of Impressionism came the development of Post-Impressionism. Paul Cézanne,
Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat are the best known Post-Impressionists.

Following the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists came Fauvism, often considered
the first "modern" genre of art. Just as the Impressionists revolutionized light, so did the
fauvists rethink color, painting their canvases in bright, wild hues. After the Fauvists, modern
art began to develop in all its forms, ranging from Expressionism, concerned with evoking
emotion through objective works of art, to Cubism, the art of transposing a three-
dimensional reality onto a flat canvas, to Abstract art. These new art forms pushed the limits
of traditional notions of "art" and corresponded to the similar rapid changes that were taking
place in human society, technology, and thought.

Surrealism is often classified as a form of Modern Art. However, the Surrealists themselves
have objected to the study of surrealism as an era in art history, claiming that it
oversimplifies the complexity of the movement (which they say is not an artistic movement),
misrepresents the relationship of surrealism to aesthetics, and falsely characterizes ongoing
surrealism as a finished, historically encapsulated era.

Contemporary art and Postmodern art

Main articles: Contemporary art and Postmodern art

Recent developments in art have been characterised by a significant expansion of what can
now deemed to be art, in terms of materials, media, activity and concept. Conceptual art in
particular has had a wide influence. This started literally as the replacement of concept for a
made object, one of the intentions of which was to refute the commodification of art.
However, it now usually refers to an artwork where there is an object, but the main claim for
the work is made for the thought process that has informed it. The aspect of commercialism
has returned to the work.
There has also been an increase in art referring to previous movements and artists, and
gaining validity from that reference.

Postmodernism in art, which has grown since the 1960s, differs from Modernism in as much
as Modern art movements were primarily focused on their own activities and values, while
Postmodernism uses the whole range of previous movements as a reference point. This
has by definition generated a relativistic outlook, accompanied by irony and a certain
disbelief in values, as each can be seen to be replaced by another. Another result of this
has been the growth of commercialism and celebrity.

Some surrealists in particular Joan Miró, who called for the "murder of painting" (In
numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for
conventional painting methods and his desire to "kill", "murder", or "rape" them in favor of
more contemporary means of expression).[5] have denounced or attempted to "supersede"
painting, and there have also been other anti-painting trends among artistic movements,
such as that of Dada and conceptual art. The trend away from painting in the late 20th
century has been countered by various movements, for example the continuation of Minimal
Art, Lyrical Abstraction, Pop Art, Op Art, New Realism, Photorealism, Neo Geo, Neo-
expressionism, and Stuckism and various other important and influential painterly directions.

See also

6c Western painting
6c History of painting
6c Contemporary art
6c Postmodern art
6c Modernism
6c Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
6c Painting in the Americas before Colonization
6c Western European paintings in Êkrainian museums

Modern Indian art

Radha.
Fresco from Ajanta, 2nd Century B.C.

Raja Ravi Varma's Shakuntala

Indian painting is a form of Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings
of pre-historic times, the petroglyphs as found in places like Bhimbetka, and some of them
are older than 5500 BC. Such works continued and after several millennia, in the 7th
century, carved pillars of Ellora, Maharashtra state present a fine example of Indian
paintings, and the colors, mostly various shades of red and orange, were derived from
minerals. Thereafter, frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora Caves appeared. India's Buddhist
literature is replete with examples of texts which describe that palaces of kings and
aristocratic class were embellished with paintings, but they have largely not survived. But, it
is believed that some form of art painting was practiced during that time.

Indian paintings provide an aesthetic continuum that extends from the early civilization to
the present day. From being essentially religious in purpose in the beginning, Indian
painting has evolved over the years to become a fusion of various cultures and traditions.
The Indian painting was exposed to Greco-Roman as well as Iranian and Chinese
influences. Cave paintings in different parts of India bear testimony to these influences and
a continuous evolution of new idioms is evident.

Sadanga of Indian painting

Around 1st century BC the Sadanga or Six Limbs of Indian Painting, were evolved, a series
of canons laying down the main principles of the art. Vatsyayana, who lived during the third
century A.D., enumerates these in his Kamasutra having extracted them from still more
ancient works.

These 'Six Limbs' have been translated as follows:

1.c Rupabheda The knowledge of appearances.

2.c Pramanam Correct perception, measure and structure.
3.c Bhava Action of feelings on forms.
4.c Lavanya Yojanam Infusion of grace, artistic representation.
5.c Sadrisyam Similitude.
6.c Varnikabhanga Artistic manner of using the brush and colours. (Tagore.)

The subsequent development of painting by the Buddhists indicates that these ' Six Limbs '
were put into practice by Indian artists, and are the basic principles on which their art was
founded.
Genres of Indian painting

Painting of Mysore style during tippu sultan period

Indian Paintings can be broadly classified as the murals and miniatures. Murals are huge
works executed on the walls of solid structures, as in the Ajanta Caves and the Kailashnath
temple. Miniature paintings are executed on a very small scale on perishable material such
as paper and cloth. The Palas of Bengal were the pioneers of miniature painting in India.
The art of miniature painting reached its glory during the Mughal period. The tradition of
miniature paintings was carried forward by the painters of different Rajasthani schools of
painting like the Bundi, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Marwar and Mewar. The Ragamala paintings
also belong to this school.

The modern Indian art has seen the rise of the Bengal School of art in 1930s followed by
many forms of experimentations in European and Indian styles. In the aftermath of India's
independence, many new genres of art developed by important artists like Jamini Roy, MF
Husain, FN Souza, and Gaitonde. With the progress of the economy the forms and styles of
art also underwent many changes. In the 1990s, Indian economy was liberalized and
integrated to the world economy leading to the free flow of cultural information within and
without. This period saw the emergence of Pseudorealism as a new genre in contemporary
Indian art. Alongside this the country saw the rise of mahny young Turks in the field of art
like Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, Devajyoti Ray, Bose Krishnamachari and Jitish Kahllat
whose works went for auction in international markets.
Murals

A mural painting depicting a scene from Mahajanaka Jataka, Cave 1, Ajanta

The history of Indian murals starts in ancient and early medieval times, from 2nd century BC
to 8th - 10th century AD. There are known more than 20 locations around India containing
murals from this period, mainly natural caves and rock-cut chambers[1]. The highest
achievements of this time are the caves of Ajanta, Bagh, Sittanavasal, Armamalai Cave
(Tamil Nadu), Ravan Chhaya rock shelter, Kailasanatha temple in Ellora Caves.

Murals from this period depict mainly religious themes of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu religions.
There are though also locations where paintings were made to adorn mundane premises,
like the ancient theatre room in Jogimara Cave[2] and possible royal hunting lodge circa 7th
century AD - Ravan Chhaya rock shelter[3].

Miniature painting
The pattern of large scale wall painting which had dominated the scene, witnessed the
advent of miniature paintings during the 11th & 12th centuries. This new style figured first in
the form of illustrations etched on palm-leaf manuscripts. The contents of these manuscripts
included literature on Buddhism & Jainism. In eastern India, the principal centres of artistic
and intellectual activities of the Buddhist religion were Nalanda, Odantapuri, Vikramshila
and Somarpura situated in the Pala kingdom (Bengal & Bihar).
Eastern Indian painting
In eastern India miniature painting developed in 10th century. These miniatures, depicting
Buddhist divinities and scenes from the life of Buddha were painted on the leaves (about
2.25 by 3 inches) of the palm-leaf manuscripts as well as their wooden covers. Most
common Buddhist illustrated manuscripts include the texts Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita,[4]
Pancharaksa, Karandavyuha and Kalachakrayanatantra. The earliest extant miniatures are
found in a manuscript of the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita dated in the sixth regnal year of
Mahipala (c. 993), presently in the possession of The Asiatic Society, Kolkata. This style
disappeared from India in the late 12th century.

Western Indian painting

In western India between the 10th to 12th century miniature painting developed. These
small paintings were part of manuscripts written at the time and illustrate the subjects of the
manuscripts. These miniatures are found in some Jaina manuscripts and are of 2 to
4 inches in size.

Earliest Jaina illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts include the texts Ogha-niryukti and
Dasavaikalika-tika. Another surviving example of early illustrated Jaina palm-leaf manuscript
is the Savaga-padikkamana-sutta-cunni written by Pandit Ramachandra (13th century).

It was in the 14th century, that paper replaced the palm leaf. Most common Jaina illustrated
paper manuscripts include the Kalpasutra of Bhadrabahu and the Kalakacharyakatha.[5] The
Jaina style of paintings attained a high degree of development by the late 15th and 16th
century.

In the 16th century, a number of Hindu illustrated manuscripts appeared in western India,
which include the texts, the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva and the Bhagavata Purana.

Malwa, Deccan and Jaunpur schools of painting

A new trend in manuscript illustration was set by a manuscript of the Nimatnama painted at
Mandu, during the reign of Nasir Shah (1500±1510). This represent a synthesis of the
indigenous and the Persion style, though it was the latter which dominated the Mandu
manuscripts. There was another style of painting known as Lodi Khuladar that flourished in
the Sultanate's dominion of North India extending from Delhi to Jaunpur.

The miniature painting style, which flourished initially in the Bahmani court and later in the
courts of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda is popularly known as the Deccan school of
Painting. One of the earliest surviving paintings are found as the illustrations of a manuscript
Tarif-i-Hussain Shahi (c.1565), which is now in Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala,
Pune. About 400 miniature paintings are found in the manuscript of Nujum-ul-Êlum (Stars of
Science) (1570), kept in Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.

Mughal painting

A 17th century Mughal painting.

Main article: Mughal painting

Mughal painting is a particular style of Indian painting, generally confined to illustrations on

the book and done in miniatures, and which emerged, developed and took shape during the
period of the Mughal Empire 16th -19th centuries).

Mughal paintings were a unique blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Because the
Mughal kings wanted visual records of their deeds as hunters and conquerors, their artists
accompanied them on military expeditions or missions of state, or recorded their prowess as
animal slayers, or depicted them in the great dynastic ceremonies of marriages.

Akbar's reign (1556±1605) ushered a new era in Indian miniature painting. After he had
consolidated his political power, he built a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri where he collected
artists from India and Persia. He was the first morarch who established in India an atelier
under the supervision of two Persian master artists, Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdus Samad.
Earlier, both of them had served under the patronage of Humayun in Kabul and
accompanied him to India when he regained his throne in 1555. More than a hundred
painters were employed, most of whom were Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir,
who gave a birth to a new school of painting, popularly known as the Mughal School of
miniature Paintings.

A folio from the Hamzanama

One of the first productions of that school of miniature painting was the Hamzanama series,
which according to the court historian, Badayuni, was started in 1567 and completed in
1582. The Hamzanama, stories of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet, were illustrated by
Mir Sayyid Ali. The paintings of the Hamzanama are of large size, 20 x 27" and were
painted on cloth. They are in the Persian safavi style. Brilliant red, blue and green colours
predominate; the pink, eroded rocks and the vegetation, planes and blossoming plum and
peach trees are reminiscent of Persia. However, Indian tones appear in later work, when
Indian artists were employed.

After him, Jahangir encouraged artists to paint portraits and durbar scenes. His most
talented portrait painters were Êstad Mansur, Abul Hasan and Bishandas.

Shah Jahan (1627±1658) continued the patronage of painting. Some of the famous artists
of the period were Mohammad Faqirullah Khan, Mir Hashim, Muhammad Nadir, Bichitr,
Chitarman, Anupchhatar, Manohar and Honhar.
Aurangzeb had no taste for fine arts. Due to lack of patronage artists migrated to Hyderabad
in the Deccan and to the Hindu states of Rajasthan in search of new patrons.

Rajput painting

An 18th century Rajput painting by the artist Nihâl Chand.

Main article: Rajput painting

Rajput painting, a style of Indian painting, evolved and flourished, during the 18th century, in
the royal courts of Rajputana, India. 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 were the preferred medium of Rajput painting, but several manuscripts also
contain Rajput paintings, and paintings were even done on the walls of palaces, inner
chambers of the forts, havelies, particularly, the havelis of Shekhawati.

The colours extracted from certain minerals, plant sources, conch shells, and were even
derived by processing precious stones, gold and silver were used. The preparation of
desired colours was a lengthy process, sometimes taking weeks. Brushes used were very
fine.

Mysore painting
Main article: Mysore painting
A painting of Laxmi

Mysore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting that originated in the
town of Mysore in Karnataka. These paintings are known for their elegance, muted colours,
and attention to detail. The themes for most of these paintings are Hindu Gods and
Goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. In modern times, these paintings have
become a much sought after souvenir during festive occasions in South India.

The process of making a Mysore painting involves many stages. The first stage involves the
making of the preliminary sketch of the image on the base. The base consists of cartridge
paper pasted on a wooden base. A paste made of Zinc oxide and Arabic gum is made
called "gesso paste". With the help of a thin brush all the jewellery and parts of throne or the
arch which have some relief are painted over to give a slightly raised effect of carving. This
is allowed to dry. On this thin gold foil is pasted. The rest of the drawing is then painted
using watercolours. Only muted colours are used.

[edit] Tanjore painting

Main article: Tanjore painting
Tanjore style painting depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.

Tanjore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of
Tanjore in Tamil Nadu. The art form dates back to the early 9th century, a period dominated
by the Chola rulers, who encouraged art and literature. These paintings are known for their
elegance, rich colours, and attention to detail. The themes for most of these paintings are
Hindu Gods and Goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. In modern times, these
paintings have become a much sought after souvenir during festive occasions in South
India.

The process of making a Tanjore painting involves many stages. The first stage involves the
making of the preliminary sketch of the image on the base. The base consists of a cloth
pasted over a wooden base. Then chalk powder or zinc oxide is mixed with water-soluble
adhesive and applied on the base. To make the base smoother, a mild abrasive is
sometimes used. After the drawing is made, decoration of the jewellery and the apparels in
the image is done with semi-precious stones. Laces or threads are also used to decorate
the jewellery. On top of this, the gold foils are pasted. Finally, dyes are used to add colors to
the figures in the paintings.

Madhubani painting
Main article: Madhubani painting

Madhubani painting is a style of uttaradi mutt painting, practiced in the Mithila region of
Bihar state, India. The origins of Madhubani painting are shrouded in antiquity, and a
tradition states that this style of painting originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King
Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita,
with Sri Rama who is considered to be an incarnation of the Hindu god lord Vishnu.

Pattachitra
Main article: Pattachitra

Gita Govinda depicted in Pattachitra

Pattachitra refers to the folk painting of the state of Orissa, in the eastern region of
India.'Patta' in Sanskrit means 'Vastra' or 'clothings' and 'chitra' means paintings.The
tradition of Pattachitra is closely linked with the worship of Lord Jagannath. Apart from the
fragmentary evidence of paintings on the caves of Khandagiri and Êdayagiri and Sitabhinji
murals of the Sixth century A.D., the earliest indigenous paintings from Odisha are the
Pattachitra done by the Chitrakars (the painters are called Chitrakars).[6] The theme of
Odishan painting centres round the Vaishnava cult. Since beginning of Pattachitra culture
Lord Jagannath who was an incarnation of Lord Krishna was the major source of inspiration.
The subject matter of Patta Chitra is mostly mythological, religious stories and folk lore.
Themes are chiefly on Lord Jagannath and Radha-Krishna, different "Vesas" of Jagannath,
Balabhadra and Subhadra, temple activities, the ten incarnations of Vishnu basing on the
'Gita Govinda' of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Naba Gunjara, Ramayana, Mahabharata. The
individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted.The painters use
vegetable and mineral colours without going for factory made poster colours. They prepare
their own colours. White colour is made from the conch-shells by powdering, boiling and
filtering in a very hazardous process. It requires a lot of patience. But this process gives
brilliance and premanence to the hue. 'Hingula', a mineral colour, is used for red. 'Haritala',
king of stone ingredients for yellow, 'Ramaraja' a sort of indigo for blue are being used. Pure
lamp-black or black prepared from the burning of cocoanut shells are used.The brushes that
are used by these 'Chitrakaras' are also indigenous and are made of hair of domestic
animals. A bunch of hair tied to the end of a bamboo stick make the brush. It is really a
matter of wonder as to how these painters bring out lines of such precision and finish with
the help of these crude brushes. That old tradition of Odishan painting still survives to-day in
the skilled hands of Chitrakaras (traditional painters) in Puri, Raghurajpur, Paralakhemundi,
Chikiti and Sonepur.

Various Hindu Gods are shown in Pattachitra

Bengal school

Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore, 1905, a pioneer of the Bengal School

Main article: Bengal school of art

The Bengal School of Art was an influential style of art that flourished in India during the
British Raj in the early 20th century. It was associated with Indian nationalism, but was also
promoted and supported by many British arts administrators.
The Bengal school arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the
academic art styles previously promoted in India, both by Indian artists such as Ravi Varma
and in British art schools. Following the widespread influence of Indian spiritual ideas in the
West, the British art teacher Ernest Binfield Havel attempted to reform the teaching methods
at the Calcutta School of Art by encouraging students to imitate Mughal miniatures. This
caused immense controversy, leading to a strike by students and complaints from the local
press, including from nationalists who considered it to be a retrogressive move. Havel was
supported by the artist Abanindranath Tagore, a nephew of the poet Rabindranath Tagore.
Tagore painted a number of works influenced by Mughal art, a style that he and Havel
believed to be expressive of India's distinct spiritual qualities, as opposed to the
"materialism" of the West. Tagore's best-known painting, Bharat Mata (Mother India),
depicted a young woman, portrayed with four arms in the manner of Hindu deities, holding
objects symbolic of India's national aspirations. Tagore later attempted to develop links with
Japanese artists as part of an aspiration to construct a pan-Asianist model of art.

The Bengal school's influence in India declined with the spread of modernist ideas in the
1920s.

Modern Indian Painting

Three Girls, by Amrita Sher-Gil, 1935, now at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New
Delhi
Sneha-village belle, Oil on canvas by John Wilkins(Indian artist)

Setting Notes, by Devajyoti Ray, 2007, One of the major works in the Pseudorealism Genre
of Modern Indian Art

During the colonial era, Western influences started to make an impact on Indian art. Some
artists developed a style that used Western ideas of composition, perspective and realism to
illustrate Indian themes. Others, like Jamini Roy, consciously drew inspiration from folk art.

By the time of Independence in 1947, several schools of art in India provided access to
modern techniques and ideas. Galleries were established to showcase these artists.
Modern Indian art typically shows the influence of Western styles, but is often inspired by
Indian themes and images. Major artists are beginning to gain international recognition,
initially among the Indian diaspora, but also among non-Indian audiences.
The Progressive Artists' Group, established shortly after India became independent in 1947,
was intended to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. The
founders were six eminent artists - K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade, M.F. Husain, S.H.
Raza and F. N. Souza, though the group was dissolved in 1956, it was profoundly influential
in changing the idiom of Indian art. Almost all India's major artists in the 1950s were
associated with the group. Some of those who are well-known today are Bal Chabda, Om
Swami, V. S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, and Akbar Padamsee.
Other famous painters like Jahar Dasgupta, Prokash Karmakar, John Wilkins,Narayanan
Ramachandran, and Bijon Choudhuri enriched the art culture of India. They have become
the icon of modern Indian art. Art historians like Prof. Rai Anand Krishna have also referred
to those works of modern artistes that reflect Indian ethos. Some of the new artists like
Geeta Vadhera have had acclaim in translating complex, Indian spiritual themes into the
canvas - Sufi thought [1], Êpanishads and the Bhagwad Geeta, for example. From 1990 to
till 2009 the Indian art is growing with powerful expression. one of them is Raj mehta
working in lucknow, recent work on women the silent feature of women mind.the city of
nawabs. it has the great history, ruled many kings and the loving place of all emperial
power. Raj mehta work in painting and mural. kriti art gallery in varanasi explore his work in
India. "Third Eye Series", is a new style of painting brought out by Narayanan
Ramachandran, during 1990 to 2010.

Indian Art got a boost with the economic liberalization of the country since early 1990s.
Artists from various fields now started bringing in varied styles of work. Post liberalization
Indian art thus works not only within the confines of academic traditions but also outside it.
Artists like Chittrobhanu Majumdar, A Ramachandran, etc have introduced newer mediums
in art. In this phase, artists have introduced even newer concepts which have hitherto not
been seen in Indian art. Devajyoti Ray has introduced a the new genre of art called
Pseudorealism. Pseudorealist Art is an original art style that has been developed entirely on
the Indian soil. Pseudorealism takes into account the Indian concept of abstraction and uses
it to transform regular scenes of Indian life into a fantastic images.

In post-liberalization India, many artists have establisghed themselves in the international

art market like Anish Kapoor whose mammoth artworks have acquired attention for their
sheer size. Many art houses and galleries have also opened in ÊSA and Europe to
showcase Indian artworks.Some artists like Shreya Chaturvedi, Subodh Gupta , Piu Sarkar,
Amitava Sengupta and many others have done magic world wide
Gallery

Some notable Indian paintings

6c Hemen Majumdar's "Lady with the Lamp"

6c Rabindranath Tagore's "Self portrait"
6c Abanindranath Tagore's Bharat Mata
6c Raja Ravi Varma's Shakuntala
6c Ramkinkar Baij's "Jakkha 0 Jakkhi"
6c Bikash Bhattacharya's "Doll-series"
6c Geeta Vadhera's Jogia "Dhoop series"
6c Jahar Dasgupta's "Confrontation"
6c MF Hussain's "Horses-series"
6c Jamini Roy's "Jesus"
6c John Wilkins's "Gossip",
6c Rakesh Vijay "Persian and Mogul styles"
6c Jainul Abedin's "Series on Bengal Famine"
6c Sunil Das's "Bull Series"
6c Devajyoti Ray's "In Despair"
6c Tyeb Mehta's "Mahisasur"
6c B. G. Sharma's Krishna miniatures

Q7: Make a comperative analysis between Chinese, Japanese and South east Asian art ?

CHINESE ARTS
Chinese jade ornament with dragon and phoenix design, late Spring and Autumn Period
(722 BC-481 BC).

1.c Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is
practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age
art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures.
This early period was followed by a series of art dynasties, most of which lasted
several hundred years. The Chinese art in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and that
of overseas Chinese can also be considered part of Chinese art where it is based
in or draws on Chinese heritage and Chinese culture.

Historical development to 221 BC

Neolithic pottery
Main article: Yangshao culture

Early forms of art in China are found in the Neolithic Yangshao culture (Chinese:
È
; pinyin: Y;Ã
 WéÃ), wic date
back t te 6t milleÃÃim BC.
Arcel ical fiÃdiÃ

c a
t
e at te BaÃp ave revealed tat te YaÃ
a made
pttery; early ceramic
were ÃpaiÃted aÃd m
t fteà crd-marked. Te fir
t decratiÃ

were fi
 aÃd maà face
, bt te
e eveÃtally evlved iÃt
ymmetrical- emetric
ab
tract de
i Ã
,
me paiÃted.

Te m
t di
tiÃctive featre f YaÃ
a cltre wa
te exteÃ
ive 
e f paiÃted pttery,
e
pecially maà facial, aÃimal, aÃd emetric de
i Ã
. ÊÃlike te later LÃ
aà cltre,
te YaÃ
a cltre did Ãt 
e pttery weel
ià pttery makià . ExcavatiÃ
ave fÃd
tat cildreà were bried ià paiÃted pttery jar
.

Jade cltre
Maià article: Liaà z cltre
The Liangzhu culture was the last Neolithic Jade culture in the Yangtze River delta and was
spaced over a period of about 1,300 years. The Jade from this culture is characterized by
finely worked, large ritual jades such as Cong cylinders, Bi discs, Yue axes and also
pendants and decorations in the form of chiseled open-work plaques, plates and
representations of small birds, turtles and fish. The Liangzhu Jade has a white, milky bone-
like aspect due to its Tremolite rock origin and influence of water-based fluids at the burial
sites. Jade is a green stone that cannot be carved so it has to be ground.

Bronze casting
Main article: Chinese bronzes

The Bronze Age in China began with the Xia Dynasty. Examples from this period have been
recovered from ruins of the Erlitou culture, in Shanxi, and include complex but unadorned
utilitarian objects. In the following Shang Dynasty more elaborate objects, including many
ritual vessels, were crafted. The Shang are remembered for their bronze casting, noted for
its clarity of detail. Shang bronzesmiths usually worked in foundries outside the cities to
make ritual vessels, and sometimes weapons and chariot fittings as well. The bronze
vessels were receptacles for storing or serving various solids and liquids used in the
performance of sacred ceremonies. Some forms such as the ku and jue can be very
graceful, but the most powerful pieces are the ding, sometimes described as having the an
"air of ferocious majesty."

It is typical of the developed Shang style that all available space is decorated, most often
with stylized forms of real and imaginary animals. The most common motif is the taotie,
which shows a mythological being presented frontally as though squashed onto a horizontal
plane to form a symmetrical design. The early significance of taotie is not clear, but myths
about it existed around the late Zhou Dynasty. It was considered to be variously a covetous
man banished to guard a corner of heaven against evil monsters; or a monster equipped
with only a head which tries to devour men but hurts only itself.

The function and appearance of bronzes changed gradually from the Shang to the Zhou.
They shifted from been used in religious rites to more practical purposes. By the Warring
States Period, bronze vessels had become objects of aesthetic enjoyment. Some were
decorated with social scenes, such as from a banquet or hunt; whilst others displayed
abstract patterns inlaid with gold, silver, or precious and semiprecious stones.

Shang bronzes became appreciated as works of art from the Song Dynasty, when they
were collected and prized not only for their shape and design but also for the various green,
blue green, and even reddish patinas created by chemical action as they lay buried in the
ground. The study of early Chinese bronze casting is a specialized field of art history.

Black eggshell pottery of the Longshan culture (c. 3000± A Zhou Dynasty bronze musical
2000 BC) bell

Chu and Southern culture

A rich source of art in early China was the state of Chu, which developed in the Yangtze
River valley. Excavations of Chu tombs have found painted wooden sculptures, jade disks,
glass beads, musical instruments, and an assortment of lacquerware. Many of the lacquer
objects are finely painted, red on black or black on red. A site in Changsha, Hunan province,
has revealed the world's oldest painting on silk discovered to date. It shows a woman
accompanied by a phoenix and a dragon, two mythological animals to feature prominently in
Chinese art.

Early Imperial China (221 BC±AD 220)

Qin sculpture
Crossbow men from the Terracotta Army, interred by 210 BC, Qin Dynasty

The Terracotta Army, inside the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, consists of more than
7,000 life-size tomb terra-cotta figures of warriors and horses buried with the self-
proclaimed first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) in 210±209 BC. The figures were painted
before being placed into the vault. The original colors were visible when the pieces were
first unearthed. However, exposure to air caused the pigments to fade, so today the
unearthed figures appear terracotta in color. The figures are in several poses including
standing infantry and kneeling archers, as well as charioteers with horses. Each figure's
head appears to be unique, showing a variety of facial features and expressions as well as
hair styles.

Pottery
Porcelain is made from a hard paste made of the clay kaolin and a feldspar called petuntse,
which cements the vessel and seals any pores. China has become synonymous with high-
quality porcelain. Most china pots comes from the city of Jingdezhen in China's Jiangxi
province. Jingdezhen, under a variety of names, has been central to porcelain production in
China since at least the early Han Dynasty.

The most noticeable difference between porcelain and the other pottery clays is that it
"wets" very quickly (that is, added water has a noticeably greater effect on the plasticity for
porcelain than other clays), and that it tends to continue to "move" longer than other clays,
requiring experience in handling to attain optimum results. During medieval times in Europe,
porcelain was very expensive and in high demand for its beauty. TLV mirrors also date from
the Han dynasty.

Han art
The Han Dynasty was known for jade burial suits. One of the earliest known depictions of a
landscape in Chinese art comes from a pair of hollow-tile door panels from a Western Han
Dynasty tomb near Zhengzhou, dated 60 BCE.[1] A scene of continuous depth recession is
conveyed by the zigzag of lines representing roads and garden walls, giving the impression
that one is looking down from the top of a hill.[1] This artistic landscape scene was made by
the repeated impression of standard stamps on the clay while it was still soft and not yet
fired.[1] However, the oldest known landscape art scene tradition in the classical sense of
painting is a work by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui Dynasty (581±618).
 Two gentlemen engrossed in conversation while two
A gilt bronze lamp with a shutter, in others look on, a painting on a ceramic tile from a tomb
the shape of a maidservant, from near Luoyang, Henan province, dated to the Eastern
the Western Han Dynasty, 2nd Han Dynasty (25±220 AD)
century BC

Period of division (220±581)

Part of the scroll for Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies, probably a Tang
Dynasty copy of the original by Gu Kaizhi.

Influence of Buddhism
Main article: Buddhist art

Buddhism arrived in China around the 1st century AD (although there are some traditions
about a monk visiting China during Asoka's reign), and through to the 8th century it became
very active and creative in the development of Buddhist art, particularly in the area of
statuary. Receiving this distant religion, China soon incorporated strong Chinese traits in its
artistic expression.

In the fifth to sixth century the Northern Dynasties, rather removed from the original sources
of inspiration, tended to develop rather symbolic and abstract modes of representation, with
schematic lines. Their style is also said to be solemn and majestic. The lack of corporeality
of this art, and its distance from the original Buddhist objective of expressing the pure ideal
of enlightenment in an accessible, realistic manner, progressively led to a research towards
more naturalism and realism, leading to the expression of Tang Buddhist art.

Calligraphy
In ancient China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly appreciated arts in court
circles and were produced almost exclusively by amateurs, aristocrats and scholar-officials
who alone had the leisure to perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great
brushwork. Calligraphy was thought to be the highest and purest form of painting. The
implements were the brush pen, made of animal hair, and black inks, made from pine soot
and animal glue. Writing as well as painting was done on silk. But after the invention of
paper in the 1st century, silk was gradually replaced by the new and cheaper material.
Original writings by famous calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's
history and are mounted on scrolls and hung on walls in the same way that paintings are.

Wang Xizhi was a famous Chinese calligrapher who lived in the 4th century AD. His most
famous work is the Lanting Xu, the preface of a collection of poems written by a number of
poets when gathering at Lan Ting near the town of Shaoxing in Zhejiang province and
engaging in a game called "qu shui liu shang".

Wei Shuo was a well-known calligrapher of Eastern Jin Dynasty who established
consequential rules about the Regular Script. Her well-known works include Famous
Concubine Inscription ($ Ming Ji Tie) and Te In
criptin  Wei-
i He'nan
(€
 Wei-shi He'nan Tie).

Painting
Gu Kaizhi is a celebrated painter of ancient China born in Wuxi. He wrote three books about
painting theory: On Painting (
), IÃ 
cà Fam
PaÃÃ
 We aÃ
JÃ
DyÃ

(!


) and Pann Yna Mnan (
). He wrote, "In
figure paintings the clothes and the appearances were not very important. The eyes were
the spirit and the decisive factor."

Three of Gu's paintings still survive today. They are "Admonitions of the Instructress to the
Court Ladies", "Nymph of the Luo River" (Â
), and "Wise and Benevolent Women".

There are other examples of Jin Dynasty painting from tombs. This includes the Seven
Sages of the Bamboo Grove, painted on a brick wall of a tomb located near modern Nanjing
and now found in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Each of the figures are labeled and
shown either drinking, writing, or playing a musical instrument. Other tomb paintings also
depict scenes of daily life, such as men plowing fields with teams of oxen.

Seven Sages of the Bamboo

Grove, an Eastern Jin tomb Northern Wei wall murals A scene of two horseback riders
painting from Nanjing, now and painted figurines from a wall painting in the tomb
located in the Shaanxi Provincial from the Yungang of Lou Rui at Taiyuan, Shanxi,
Museum. Grottoes, dated 5th to 6th Northern Qi Dynasty (550±577)
centuries.

The Sui and Tang dynasties (581±960)

Main article: Tang Dynasty art

Strolling About in Spring, by Zhan Ziqian, artist of the Sui Dynasty (581±618).
A Chinese Tang Dynasty tri-color glazed porcelain horse (ca. 700 CE), using yellow, green
and white colors.

Buddhist architecture and sculpture

Following a transition under the Sui Dynasty, Buddhist sculpture of the Tang evolved
towards a markedly lifelike expression. As a consequence of the Dynasty's openness to
foreign trade and influences through the Silk Road, Tang dynasty Buddhist sculpture
assumed a rather classical form, inspired by the Greco-Buddhist art of Central Asia.

However, foreign influences came to be negatively perceived towards the end of the Tang
dynasty. In the year 845, the Tang emperor Wu-Tsung outlawed all "foreign" religions
(including Christian Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism) in order to support the
indigenous Taoism. He confiscated Buddhist possessions and forced the faith to go
underground, therefore affecting the ulterior development of the religion and its arts in
China.

Most wooden Tang sculptures have not survived, though representations of the Tang
international style can still be seen in Nara, Japan. The longevity of stone sculpture has
proved much greater. Some of the finest examples can be seen at Longmen, near Luoyang,
Yungang near Datong, and Bingling Temple, in Gansu.

One of the most famous Buddhist Chinese pagodas is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, built
in 652 AD.
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Dong Yuan was an active painter in the Southern Tang Kingdom. He was known for both
figure and landscape paintings, and exemplified the elegant style which would become the
standard for brush painting in China over the next 900 years. As with many artists in China,
his profession was as an official where he studied the existing styles of Li Sixun and Wang
Wei. However, he added to the number of techniques, including more sophisticated
perspective, use of pointillism and crosshatching to build up vivid effect.

Zhan Ziqian was a painter during the Sui Dynasty. His only painting in existence is Strolling
About In Spring arranged mountains perspectively. Because the first pure scenery paintings
of Europe emerged after the 17th century, Strolling About In Spring may well be the first
scenery painting of the world..

The Song and Yuan dynasties (960±1368)

Main article: Culture of the Song Dynasty

A wooden Bodhisattva from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD)

The Sakyamuni Buddha, by Zhang Shengwen, 1173-1176 AD, Song Dynasty period.
Song painting
During the Song dynasty (960±1279), landscapes of more subtle expression appeared;
immeasurable distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain
contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena.
Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of the artist
to reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to Taoist and
Buddhist concepts.

Liang Kai was a Chinese painter who lived in the 13th century (Song Dynasty). He called
himself "Madman Liang," and he spent his life drinking and painting. Eventually, he retired
and became a Zen monk. Liang is credited with inventing the Zen school of Chinese art.
Wen Tong was a painter who lived in the 11th century. He was famous for ink paintings of
bamboo. He could hold two brushes in one hand and paint two different distanced bamboos
simultaneously. He did not need to see the bamboo while he painted them because he had
seen a lot of them.

Zhang Zeduan was a notable painter for his horizontal Along the River During Qingming
Festival landscape and cityscape painting. It has been quoted as "China's Mona Lisa" and
has had many well-known remakes throughout Chinese history.[2] Other famous paintings
include The Night Revels of Han Xizai, originally painted by the Southern Tang artist Gu
Hongzhong in the 10th century, while the well-known version of his painting is a 12th
century remake of the Song Dynasty. This is a large horizontal handscroll of a domestic
scene showing men of the gentry class being entertained by musicians and dancers while
enjoying food, beverage, and wash basins provided by maidservants. In 2000, the modern
artist Wang Qingsong created a parody of this painting with a long, horizontal photograph of
people in modern clothing making similar facial expressions, poses, and hand gestures as
the original painting.

Song Dynasty ding-ware porcelain bottle with iron pigment Playing Children, by Song artist
under a transparent colorless glaze, 11th century. Su Hanchen, c. 1150 AD.
Yuan painting

Wang Meng was a painter during the Yuan dynasty. One of his well-known works is the
Forest Grotto. Zhao Mengfu was a Chinese scholar, painter and calligrapher during the
Yuan Dynasty. His rejection of the refined, gentle brushwork of his era in favor of the cruder
style of the 8th century is considered to have brought about a revolution that created the
modern Chinese landscape painting. There was also the vivid and detailed works of art by
Qian Xuan (1235-1305), who had served the Song court, and out of patriotism refused to
serve the Mongols, instead turning to painting. He was famous for reviving and reproducing
a more Tang Dynasty style of painting.

Late imperial China (1368-1911)

Detail of Dragon Throne used by the Qianlong Emperor of China, Forbidden City, Qing
Dynasty. Artifact circulating in Ê.S. museums on loan from Beijing.

Ming painting
Main article: Ming Dynasty painting

Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, early 17th century, Ming Dynasty.
Chinese painting from 1664

Ênder the Ming dynasty, Chinese culture bloomed. Narrative painting, with a wider color
range and a much busier composition than the Song paintings, was immensely popular
during the time. As the techniques of color printing were perfected, illustrated manuals on
the art of painting began to be published. Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Manual of the Mustard Seed
Garden), a five-volume work first published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook
for artists and students ever since. Matteo Ricci, Wen Zhengming, Xu Wei

Early Qing painting

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), Sha Menghai (í l, calligraphist), Pan Tianshou (
), Fu
Baoshi (). Other well-known painters are: Wang Zhen, XuGu, Zhang Xiong, Hu
Yuan, and Yang Borun.

New China art (1912-1949)

Sanmao, one of the most well-known comic book characters in China

Transformation
With the end of the last dynasty in China, the New Culture Movement began and defied all
facets of traditionalism. A new breed of 20th century cultural philosophers like Xiao Youmei,
Cai Yuanpei, Feng Zikai and Wang Guangqi wanted Chinese culture to modernize and
reflect the New China. The Chinese Civil War would cause a drastic split between the
Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China. Following was the Second Sino-Japanese
War in particular the Battle of Shanghai would leave the major cultural art center borderline
to a humanitarian crisis.

Painting

Western style oil painting was introduced to China by painters such as Xiao Tao Sheng.

Communist and socialist art (1950-1980s)

Selective art decline
The Communist Party of China would have full control of the government with Mao Zedong
heading the People's Republic of China. If the art was presented in a manner that favored
the government, the artists were heavily promoted. Vice versa, any clash with communist
party beliefs would force the artists to become farmers via "re-education" processes under
the regime. The peak era of governmental control came under the Cultural Revolution. The
most notable event was the Destruction of the Four Olds, which had major consequences
against pottery, paintings, literary art, architecture and countless others.

Painting
Artists were encouraged to employ socialist realism. Some Soviet Ênion socialist realism
was imported without modification, and painters were assigned subjects and expected to
mass-produce paintings. This regimen was considerably relaxed in 1953, and after the
Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956±57, traditional Chinese painting experienced a
significant revival. Along with these developments in professional art circles, there was a
proliferation of peasant art depicting everyday life in the rural areas on wall murals and in
open-air painting exhibitions. Notable modern Chinese painters include Huang Binhong, Qi
Baishi, Xu Beihong, Chang Ta Chien, Pan Tianshou, Wu Changshi, Fu Baoshi, Wang
Kangle and Zhang Chongren.

Redevelopment (Mid-1980s - 1990s)

Contemporary Art

Execution by Yue Minjun, the most expensive Chinese contemporary art sold in 2007, for a
value of ÊS $5.9 million (or Euro ¼4.2 million, British pound £2.9 million)

Contemporary Chinese art (



, Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu) often referred to as
Chinese avant-garde art, continued to develop since the 1980s as an outgrowth of modern
art developments post-Cultural Revolution. Contemporary Chinese art fully incorporates
painting, film, video, photography, and performance. Êntil recently, art exhibitions deemed
controversial have been routinely shut down by police, and performance artists in particular
faced the threat of arrest in the early 1990s. More recently there has been greater tolerance
by the Chinese government, though many internationally acclaimed artists are still restricted
from media exposure at home or have exhibitions ordered closed. Leading contemporary
visual artists include Ai Weiwei, Cai Guoqiang, Cai Xin, Fang Lijun, Huang Yan, Huang
Yong Ping, Kong Bai Ji, Lu Shengzhong, Ma Liuming, Ma Qingyun, Qiu Shihua, Song
Dong, Li Wei, Christine Wang, Wang Guangyi, Wang Qingsong, Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, Yang
Zhichao, Zhan Wang, Zhang Dali, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Huan, Zhu Yu, Yan Lei, Ma
Kelu, Ding Fang, Shang Yang, and Zhang Yue.

Visual art

Beginning in the late 1980s there was unprecedented exposure for younger Chinese visual
artists in the west to some degree through the agency of curators based outside the country
such as Hou Hanru. Local curators within the country such as Gao Minglu and critics such
as Li Xianting (
) reinforced this promotion of particular brands of painting that had
recently emerged, while also spreading the idea of art as a strong social force within
Chinese culture. There was some controversy as critics identified these imprecise
representations of contemporary Chinese art as having been constructed out of personal
preferences, a kind of programmatized artist-curator relationship that only further alienated
the majority of the avant-garde from Chinese officialdom and western art market patronage.

Contemporary art market

All The Mountains Blanketed in Red

Today, the market for Chinese art, both antique and contemporary, is widely reported to be
among the hottest and fastest-growing in the world, attracting buyers all over the world.[3][4][5]
The Voice of America reported in 2006 that modern Chinese art is raking in record prices
both internationally and in domestic markets, some experts even fearing the market might
be overheating.[6] The Economist reported that Chinese art has become the latest darling in
the world market according to the record sales from Sotheby's and Christie's, the biggest
fine-art auction houses.[7] The International Herald Tribune reported that Chinese porcelains
were fought over in the art market as "if there was no tomorrow".[8] A 14th century porcelain
vase was sold by Christie's for a record £15.68 million.[9][10] In terms of buying-market, China
recently overtook France as the world's third-largest art market, after the Ênited States and
the Ênited Kingdom, due to the growing middle-class in the country.[11][12] Sotheby's noted
that Contemporary Chinese art has rapidly changed the Contemporary Asian art world into
one of the most dynamic sectors on the international art market.[13] During the global
economic crisis, the contemporary Asian art market and the contemporary Chinese art
market experienced a slow down.[14][15] The market for Contemporary Chinese and Asian art
saw a major revival in late 2009 with record level sales at Christie's.[16] For centuries largely
made-up of European and American buyers, the international buying market for Chinese art
has also began to be dominated by Chinese dealers and collectors in recent years.[17]

One of the areas that has revived art concentration and also commercialized the industry is
the 798 Art District in Dashanzi of Beijing. The artist Zhang Xiaogang sold a 1993 painting
for ÊSD $ 2.3 million in 2006, which included blank faced Chinese families from the Cultural
Revolution era[18]. Collectors such as Stanley Ho, the owner of the Macau Casinos, fund
manager Christopher Tsai, and casino developer Stephen Wynn would capitalize on the art
trends. Items such as Ming Dynasty vases and assorted Imperial pieces were auctioned off.

Other art works produced in China or Hong Kong were sold in places such as Christie's
including a Chinese porcelain piece with the mark of Emperor Qianlong sold for HKD $
$151.3 million. A 1964 painting "All the Mountains Blanketed in Red" was sold for HKD $35
million. Auctions were also held at Sotheby's where Xu Beihong's 1939 masterpiece "Put
Down Your Whip" sold for HKD $72 million[19]. The industry is not limited to fine arts, as
many other types of contemporary pieces were also sold. In 2000, a number of Chinese
artists were included in Documenta and the Venice Biennale of 2003. China now has its
own major contemporary art showcase with the Venice Biennale. Fuck Off was a notorious
art exhibition which ran alongside the Shanghai Biennial Festival in 2000 and was curated
by independent curator Feng Boyi and contemporary artist Ai Weiwei.

Japanese art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery,
sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga,
cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art. It also has a long history, ranging
from the beginnings of human habitation in Japan, sometime in the 10th millennium BC, to
the present.

Historically, Japan has been subject to sudden invasions of new and alien ideas followed by
long periods of minimal contact with the outside world. Over time the Japanese developed
the ability to absorb, imitate, and finally assimilate those elements of foreign culture that
complemented their aesthetic preferences. The earliest complex art in Japan was produced
in the 7th and 8th centuries AD in connection with Buddhism. In the 9th century, as the
Japanese began to turn away from China and develop indigenous forms of expression, the
secular arts became increasingly important; until the late 15th century, both religious and
secular arts flourished. After the Ōnin War (1467±1477), Japan entered a period of political,
social, and economic disruption that lasted for over a century. In the state that emerged
under the leadership of the Tokugawa shogunate, organized religion played a much less
important role in people's lives, and the arts that survived were primarily secular.

Painting is the preferred artistic expression in Japan, practiced by amateurs and

professionals alike. Êntil modern times, the Japanese wrote with a brush rather than a pen,
and their familiarity with brush techniques has made them particularly sensitive to the values
and aesthetics of painting. With the rise of popular culture in the Edo period, a style of
woodblock prints called ukiyo-e became a major art form and its techniques were fine tuned
to produce colorful prints of everything from daily news to schoolbooks. The Japanese, in
this period, found sculpture a much less sympathetic medium for artistic expression; most
Japanese sculpture is associated with religion, and the medium's use declined with the
lessening importance of traditional Buddhism.

Japanese ceramics are among the finest in the world and include the earliest known
artifacts of their culture. In architecture, Japanese preferences for natural materials and an
interaction of interior and exterior space are clearly expressed.

Today, Japan rivals most other modern nations in its contributions to modern art, fashion
and architecture, with creations of a truly modern, global, and multi-cultural (or acultural)
bent.

History of Japanese art

Jōmon art

Statuette with Snow Glasses, Jōmon Era

The first settlers of Japan, the Jōmon people (c 11000?±c 300 BC), named for the cord
markings that decorated the surfaces of their clay vessels, were nomadic hunter-gatherers
who later practiced organized farming and built cities with population of hundreds if not
thousands. They built simple houses of wood and thatch set into shallow earthen pits to
provide warmth from the soil. They crafted lavishly decorated pottery storage vessels, clay
figurines called dogu, and crystal jewels.

Yayoi art
The next wave of immigrants was the Yayoi people, named for the district in Tokyo where
remnants of their settlements first were found. These people, arriving in Japan about 350
BC, brought their knowledge of wetland rice cultivation, the manufacture of copper weapons
and bronze bells (dōtaku), and wheel-thrown, kiln-fired ceramics.

Kofun art

The third stage in Japanese prehistory, the Kofun, or Tumulus, period (c AD 250±552),
represents a modification of Yayoi culture, attributable either to internal development or
external force. In this period, diverse groups of people formed political alliances and
coalesced into a nation. Typical artifacts are bronze mirrors, symbols of political alliances,
and clay sculptures called haniwa which were erected outside tombs.

Asuka and Nara art

Bodhisattva, Asuka period, 7th century

Pagoda and Kondō at Hōryū-ji, 8th century

During the Asuka and Nara periods, so named because the seat of Japanese government
was located in the Asuka Valley from 552 to 710 and in the city of Nara until 784, the first
significant invasion by Asian continental culture took place in Japan.

The transmission of Buddhism provided the initial impetus for contacts between China,
Korea and Japan. The Japanese recognized the facets of Chinese culture that could
profitably be incorporated into their own: a system for converting ideas and sounds into
writing; historiography; complex theories of government, such as an effective bureaucracy;
and, most important for the arts, new technologies, new building techniques, more
advanced methods of casting in bronze, and new techniques and media for painting.

Throughout the 7th and 8th centuries, however, the major focus in contacts between Japan
and the Asian continent was the development of Buddhism. Not all scholars agree on the
significant dates and the appropriate names to apply to various time periods between 552,
the official date of the introduction of Buddhism into Japan, and 784, when the Japanese
capital was transferred from Nara. The most common designations are the Suiko period,
552±645; the Hakuhō period, 645±710, and the Tenpyō period, 710±784.

The earliest Japanese sculptures of the Buddha are dated to the 6th and 7th century.[1]
They ultimately derive from the 1st-3rd century CE Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara,
characterized by flowing dress patterns and realistic rendering, on which Chinese and
Korean artistic traits were superimposed.[2] These indigenous characteristics can be seen in
early Buddhist art in Japan and some early Japanese Buddhist sculpture is now believed to
have originated in Korea, particularly from Baekje, or Korean artisans who immigrated to
Yamato Japan.[3] Particularly, the semi-seated Maitreya form was adapted into a highly
developed Korean style which was transmitted to Japan as evidenced by the Kōryū-ji
Miroku Bosatsu and the Chūgū-ji Siddhartha statues. Although many historians portray
Korea as a mere transmitter of Buddhism, the Three Kingdoms, and particularly Baekje,
were instrumental as active agents in the introduction and formation of a Buddhist tradition
in Japan in 538 or 552.[4] They illustrate the terminal point of the Silk Road transmission of
Art during the first few centuries of our era. Other examples can be found in the
development of the iconography of the Japanese Fūjin Wind God,[5] the Niō guardians,[6]
and the near-Classical floral patterns in temple decorations.[7]

The earliest Buddhist structures still extant in Japan, and the oldest wooden buildings in the
Far East are found at the Hōryū-ji to the southwest of Nara. First built in the early 7th
century as the private temple of Crown Prince Shōtoku, it consists of 41 independent
buildings. The most important ones, the main worship hall, or Kondō (Golden Hall), and
Gojū-no-tō (Five-story Pagoda), stand in the center of an open area surrounded by a roofed
cloister. The Kondō, in the style of Chinese worship halls, is a two-story structure of post-
and-beam construction, capped by an irimoya, or hipped-gabled roof of ceramic tiles.

Inside the Kondō, on a large rectangular platform, are some of the most important
sculptures of the period. The central image is a Shaka Trinity (623), the historical Buddha
flanked by two bodhisattvas, sculpture cast in bronze by the sculptor Tori Busshi (flourished
early 7th century) in homage to the recently deceased Prince Shōtoku. At the four corners
of the platform are the Guardian Kings of the Four Directions, carved in wood around 650.
Also housed at Hōryū-ji is the Tamamushi Shrine, a wooden replica of a Kondō, which is set
on a high wooden base that is decorated with figural paintings executed in a medium of
mineral pigments mixed with lacquer.

Temple building in the 8th century was focused around the Tōdai-ji in Nara. Constructed as
the headquarters for a network of temples in each of the provinces, the Tōdaiji is the most
ambitious religious complex erected in the early centuries of Buddhist worship in Japan.
Appropriately, the 16.2-m (53-ft) Buddha (completed 752) enshrined in the main Buddha
hall, or Daibutsuden, is a Rushana Buddha, the figure that represents the essence of
Buddhahood, just as the Tōdaiji represented the center for Imperially sponsored Buddhism
and its dissemination throughout Japan. Only a few fragments of the original statue survive,
and the present hall and central Buddha are reconstructions from the Edo period.

Clustered around the Daibutsuden on a gently sloping hillside are a number of secondary
halls: the Hokke-dō (Lotus Sutra Hall), with its principal image, the Fukukenjaku Kannon
(the most popular bodhisattva), crafted of dry lacquer (cloth dipped in lacquer and shaped
over a wooden armature); the Kaidanin (Ordination Hall) with its magnificent clay statues of
the Four Guardian Kings; and the storehouse, called the Shōsōin. This last structure is of
great importance as an art-historical cache, because in it are stored the utensils that were
used in the temple's dedication ceremony in 752, the eye-opening ritual for the Rushana
image, as well as government documents and many secular objects owned by the Imperial
family.
Heian art

Byōdōin Phoenix Hall, Êji, Kyoto

Panel from pictorial scroll of the Tale of Genji, 1130

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body, covered by thick drapery folds carved in the hopa-shiki (rolling-wave) style, and its
austere, withdrawn facial expression.

Fujiwara art: In the Fujiwara period, Pure Land Buddhis, which offered easy salvation
through belief in Aida (the Buddha of the Western Paradise), becae popular. This period
is naed after the Fujiwara faily, then the ost powerful in the country, who ruled as
regents for the Eperor, becoing, in effect, civil dictators. Concurrently, the Kyoto nobility
developed a society devoted to elegant aesthetic pursuits. So secure and beautiful was their
world that they could not conceive of Paradise as being uch different. They created a new
for of Buddha hall, the Aida hall, which blends the secular with the religious, and houses
one or ore Buddha iages within a structure resebling the ansions of the nobility.

The Hd (Phoenix Hall, copleted 1053) of the Bydin, a teple in Êji to the
southeast of Kyoto, is the exeplar of Fujiwara Aida halls. It consists of a ain
rectangular structure flanked by two Lshaped wing corridors and a tail corridor, set at the
edge of a large artificial pond. Inside, a single golden iage of Aida (c. 1053) is installed
on a high platfor. The Aida sculpture was executed by Jch, who used a new canon of
proportions and a new technique (yosegi), in which ultiple pieces of wood are carved out
like shells and joined fro the inside. Applied to the walls of the hall are sall relief carvings
of celestials, the host believed to have accopanied Aida when he descended fro the
Western Paradise to gather the souls of believers at the oent of death and transport
the in lotus blossos to Paradise. Raig paintings on the wooden doors of the Hd,
depicting the Descent of the Aida Buddha, are an early exaple of Yaatoe, Japanese
style painting, and contain representations of the scenery around Kyoto.

Eaki: In the last century of the Heian period, the horizontal, illustrated narrative
handscroll, known as eaki (¢ , lit. "picture scroll"), cae to the fore. Dating fro about
1130, the illustrated 'Tale of Genji' represents one of the high points of Japanese painting.
Written about the year 1000 by Murasaki Shikibu, a ladyinwaiting to the Epress Akiko,
the novel deals with the life and loves of Genji and the world of the Heian court after his
death. The 12thcentury artists of the eaki version devised a syste of pictorial
conventions that convey visually the eotional content of each scene. In the second half of
the century, a different, livelier style of continuous narrative illustration becae popular. The
Ban Dainagon Ekotoba (late 12th century), a scroll that deals with an intrigue at court,
ephasizes figures in active otion depicted in rapidly executed brush strokes and thin but
vibrant colors.

Eaki also serve as soe of the earliest and greatest exaples of the otokoe (Men's
pictures) and onnae (Woen's pictures) styles of painting. There are any fine differences
in the two styles, appealing to the aesthetic preferences of the genders. But perhaps ost
easily noticeable are the differences in subject matter. Onnae, epitomized by the Tale of
Genji handscroll, typically deals with court life, particularly the court ladies, and with
romantic themes. Otooe, on the other hand, often recorded historical events, particularly
battles. The Siege of the Sanjō Palace (1160), depicted in the "Night Attac on the Sanjō
Palace" section of the Heiji Monogatari handscroll is a famous example of this style.

Kamaura art
In 1180 a war broe out between the two most powerful warrior clans, the Taira and the
Minamoto; five years later the Minamoto emerged victorious and established a de facto seat
of government at the seaside village of Kamaura, where it remained until 1333. With the
shift of power from the nobility to the warrior class, the arts had to satisfy a new audience:
men devoted to the sills of warfare, priests committed to maing Buddhism available to
illiterate commoners, and conservatives, the nobility and some members of the priesthood
who regretted the declining power of the court. Thus, realism, a popularizing trend, and a
classical revival characterize the art of the Kamaura period. In the Kamaura period, Kyoto
and Nara remained the centers of artistic production and high culture.

Niō Guardian at the Tōdaiji (Nara), Ênei, 1203

Sculpture: The Kei school of sculptors, particularly Ênei, created a new, more realistic style
of sculpture. The two Niō guardian images (1203) in the Great South Gate of the Tōdaiji in
Nara illustrate Ênei's dynamic suprarealistic style. The images, about 8 m (about 26 ft)
tall, were carved of multiple blocs in a period of about three months, a feat indicative of a
developed studio system of artisans woring under the direction of a master sculptor.
Ênei's polychromed wood sculptures (1208, Kōfuuji, Nara) of two Indian sages, Muchau
and Seshin, the legendary founders of the Hossō sect, are among the most accomplished
realistic works of the period; as rendered by Ênkei, they are remarkably individualized and
believable images. One of the most famous works of this period is an Amitabha Triad
(completed in 1195), in Jōdo-ji in Ono, created by Kaikei, Ênkei's successor.

Calligraphy and painting: The Kegon Engi Emaki, the illustrated history of the founding of
the Kegon sect, is an excellent example of the popularizing trend in Kamakura painting. The
Kegon sect, one of the most important in the Nara period, fell on hard times during the
ascendancy of the Pure Land sects. After the Genpei War (1180±1185), Priest Myōe of
Kōzan-ji sought to revive the sect and also to provide a refuge for women widowed by the
war. The wives of samurai had been discouraged from learning more than a syllabary
system for transcribing sounds and ideas (see kana), and most were incapable of reading
texts that employed Chinese ideographs (kanji). Thus, the Kegon Engi Emaki combines
passages of text, written with a maximum of easily readable syllables, and illustrations that
have the dialogue between characters written next to the speakers, a technique comparable
to contemporary comic strips. The plot of the e-maki, the lives of the two Korean priests who
founded the Kegon sect, is swiftly paced and filled with fantastic feats such as a journey to
the palace of the Ocean King, and a poignant love story.

A work in a more conservative vein is the illustrated version of Murasaki Shikibu's diary. E-
maki versions of her novel continued to be produced, but the nobility, attuned to the new
interest in realism yet nostalgic for past days of wealth and power, revived and illustrated
the diary in order to recapture the splendor of the author's times. One of the most beautiful
passages illustrates the episode in which Murasaki Shikibu is playfully held prisoner in her
room by two young courtiers, while, just outside, moonlight gleams on the mossy banks of a
rivulet in the imperial garden.

Muromachi art
Main articles: Kitayama period and Higashiyama period

Art of Miyabi, Kitayama Culture (Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto, 1397)

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The foremost artists of the Muromachi period are the priest-painters Shūbun and Sesshū.
Shūbun, a monk at the Kyoto temple of Shokoku-ji, created in the painting Reading in a
¦amboo Grove (1446) a realistic landscape with deep recession into space. Sesshū, unlike
most artists of the period, was able to journey to China and study Chinese painting at its
source. Landscape of the Four Seasons (Sansui Chokan; c. 1486) is one of Sesshu's most
accomplished works, depicting a continuing landscape through the four seasons.

Azuchi-Momoyama art

Cypress Tree ¦ybu, Kano Eitoku, 1590

Main article: Art of the Momoyama period

In the Momoyama period (1573±1603), a succession of military leaders, such as Oda

Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, attempted to bring peace and
political stability to Japan after an era of almost 100 years of warfare. Oda, a minor
chieftain, acquired power sufficient to take de facto control of the government in 1568 and,
five years later, to oust the last Ashikaga shogun. Hideyoshi took command after Oda's
death, but his plans to establish hereditary rule were foiled by Ieyasu, who established the
Tokugawa shogunate in 1603.

Painting: The most important school of painting in the Momoyama period was that of the
Kan school, and the greatest innovation of the period was the formula, developed by Kano
Eitoku, for the creation of monumental landscapes on the sliding doors enclosing a room.
The decoration of the main room facing the garden of the Juko-in, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji
(a Zen temple in Kyoto), is perhaps the best extant example of Eitoku's work. A massive
ume tree and twin pines are depicted on pairs of sliding screens in diagonally opposite
corners, their trunks repeating the verticals of the corner posts and their branches extending
to left and right, unifying the adjoining panels. Eitoku's screen, 'Chinese Lions', also in
Kyoto, reveals the bold, brightly colored style of painting preferred by the samurai.
The Siege of Osaka Castle, 17th century.

Hasegawa Tohaku, a contemporary of Eitoku, developed a somewhat different and more

decorative style for large-scale screen paintings. In his 'Maple Screen', now in the temple of
Chishaku-in, Kyoto, he placed the trunk of the tree in the center and extended the limbs
nearly to the edge of the composition, creating a flatter, less architectonic work than Eitoku,
but a visually gorgeous painting. His sixfold screen, 'Pine Wood', is a masterly rendering in
monochrome ink of a grove of trees enveloped in mist.

Art of the Edo period

"Fūjin and Raijin" by Tawaraya Sōtatsu

The Tokugawa shogunate gained undisputed control of the government in 1603 with a
commitment to bring peace and economic and political stability to the country; in large
measure it was successful. The shogunate survived until 1867, when it was forced to
capitulate because of its failure to deal with pressure from Western nations to open the
country to foreign trade. One of the dominant themes in the Edo period was the repressive
policies of the shogunate and the attempts of artists to escape these strictures. The
foremost of these was the closing of the country to foreigners and the accoutrements of
their cultures, and the imposition of strict codes of behavior affecting every aspect of life, the
clothes one wore, the person one married, and the activities one could or should not pursue.

In the early years of the Edo period, however, the full impact of Tokugawa policies had not
yet been felt, and some of Japan's finest expressions in architecture and painting were
produced: Katsura Palace in Kyoto and the paintings of Tawaraya Sōtatsu, pioneer of the
Rimpa school.
Circuit style Japanese garden: Koraku-en Garden in Okayama, completed in 1700

Sudden Sower at te Atake ¦ridge, Hirosige, 1856

Arcitecture: Katsura Detaced Palace, built in imitation of Genji's palace, contains a cluster
of soin buildings tat combine elements of classic Japanese arcitecture wit innovative
restatements. Te wole complex is surrounded by a beautiful garden wit pats for
walking. Many of powerful Daimyo (feudal lords) built a Circuit style Japanese garden in te
territory country, and competed for te beauty.

Painting: Sōtatsu evolved a superb decorative style by re-creating temes from classical
literature, using brilliantly colored figures and motifs from te natural world set against gold-
leaf backgrounds. One of is finest works is te pair of screens Te Waves at Matsusima
in te Freer Gallery in Wasington, D.C. A century later, Korin reworked Sōtatsu's style and
created visually gorgeous works uniquely is own. Peraps is finest are te screen
paintings of red and wite plum blossoms.

Sculpture Te ¦uddist monk Enkū carved 120,000 ¦uddist images in a roug, individual
style.
Woodblock prints and Bunjinga: The school of art best known in the West is that of the
ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints of the demimonde, the world of the kabuki theater
and the brothel district. Êkiyo-e prints began to be produced in the late 17th century, but in
1764 Harunobu produced the first polychrome print. Print designers of the next generation,
including Torii Kiyonaga and Êtamaro, created elegant and sometimes insightful depictions
of courtesans. In the West, erotic woodblock "prints" became popular because the material
was not otherwise available. In that sense, such niche prints did more to promote Japanese
art in the West than art studies.

In the 19th century the dominant figure was Hiroshige, a creator of romantic and somewhat
sentimental landscape prints. The odd angles and shapes through which Hiroshige often
viewed landscape, and the work of Kiyonaga and Êtamaro, with its emphasis on flat planes
and strong linear outlines, had a profound impact on such Western artists as Edgar Degas
and Vincent van Gogh.

Another school of painting contemporary with ukiyo-e was Bunjinga, a style based on
paintings executed by Chinese scholar-painters. Just as ukiyo-e artists chose to depict
figures from life outside the strictures of the Tokugawa shogunate, Bunjin artists turned to
Chinese culture. The exemplars of this style are Ike no Taiga, Yosa Buson, Tanomura
Chikuden, and Yamamoto Baiitsu.

Art of the Prewar period

Tokyo Station, by Kingo Tatsuno, 1914

When Emperor of Japan regained ruling power in 1868, Japan was once again invaded by
new and alien forms of culture. During the Prewar period, The introduction of Western
cultural values led to a dichotomy in Japanese art, as well as in nearly every other aspect of
culture, between traditional values and attempts to duplicate and assimilate a variety of
clashing new ideas. This split remained evident in the late twentieth century, although much
synthesis had by then already occurred, and created an international cultural atmosphere
and stimulated contemporary Japanese arts toward ever more innovative forms.
By the early 20th century, European art forms were well introduced and their marriage
produced notable buildings like the Tokyo Train Station and the National Diet Building that
still exist today.

A lot of artistic new Japanese gardens were built with Jihe Ogawa.

Manga were first drawn in the Meiji period, influenced greatly by English and French political
cartoons.

Architecture: Tokyo Station, a building of Giyōfū architecture, full of bricks and pseudo-
European style. This style buildings were built in urban area.

Painting: The first response of the Japanese to Western art forms was open-hearted
acceptance, and in 1876 the Technological Art School was opened, employing Italian
instructors to teach Western methods. The second response was a pendulum swing in the
opposite direction spearheaded by Okakura Kakuzo and the American Ernest Fenollosa,
who encouraged Japanese artists to retain traditional themes and techniques while creating
works more in keeping with contemporary taste. Out of these two poles of artistic theory
developed Yōga (Western-style painting) and Nihonga (Japanese painting), categories that
remain valid to the present day

Art of the Postwar period

After the end of World War II in 1945, many artists began working in art forms derived from
the international scene, moving away from local artistic developments into the mainstream
of world art. But traditional Japanese conceptions endured, particularly in the use of
modular space in architecture, certain spacing intervals in music and dance, a propensity for
certain color combinations and characteristic literary forms.

Art from 1603 to 1945 (Edo period and Prewar period) were supported by merchants.
Counter to Edo period and Prewar period, art of Postwar period was changed to the art
which is supported by people as consumers. The wide variety of art forms available to the
Japanese reflect the vigorous state of the arts, widely supported by the Japanese people
and promoted by the government. In the 1950s and 1960s, Japan's artistic avant garde
included the internationally influential Gutai group, which originated or anticipated various
postwar genres such as performance art, installation art, conceptual art, and wearable art.

American art and architecture greatly influenced Japan. Though fear of earthquakes
severely restricted the building of a skyscraper, technological advances let Japanese build
larger and higher buildings with more artistic outlooks.
As Japan has always made little distinction between 'fine art' and 'decorative art', as the
West has done since the Renaissance, it is important to note Japan's significant and unique
contributions to the fields of art in entertainment, commercial uses, and graphic design.
Cartoons imported from America led to anime that at first were derived exclusively from
manga stories. Today, anime abounds, and many artists and studios have risen to great
fame as artists; Hayao Miyazaki and the artists and animators of Studio Ghibli are generally
regarded to be among the best the anime world has to offer. Japan also flourishes in the
fields of graphic design, commercial art (e.g. billboards, magazine advertisements), and in
video game graphics and concept art.

Contemporary art in Japan

Japanese modern art takes as many forms and expresses as many different ideas as
modern art in general, worldwide. It ranges from advertisements, anime, video games, and
architecture as already mentioned, to sculpture, painting, and drawing in all their myriad
forms.

Many artists do continue to paint in the traditional manner, with black ink and color on paper
or silk. Some of these depict traditional subject matter in the traditional styles, while others
explore new and different motifs and styles, while using the traditional media. Still others
eschew native media and styles, embracing Western oil paints or any number of other
forms.

In sculpture, the same holds true; some artists stick to the traditional modes, some doing it
with a modern flair, and some choose Western or brand new modes, styles, and media. Yo
Akiyama is just one of many modern Japanese sculptors. He works primarily in clay pottery
and ceramics, creating works that are very simple and straightforward, looking like they
were created out of the earth itself. Another sculptor, using iron and other modern materials,
built a large modern art sculpture in the Israeli port city of Haifa, called Hanabi (Fireworks).

Takashi Murakami is arguably one of the most well-known Japanese modern artists in the
Western world. Murakami and the other artists in his studio create pieces in a style, inspired
by anime, which he has dubbed "superflat". His pieces take a multitude of forms, from
painting to sculpture, some truly massive in size. But most if not all show very clearly this
anime influence, utilizing bright colors and simplified details.
Performing arts

Kabuki Theater

A remarkable number of the traditional forms of Japanese music, dance, and theater have
survived in the contemporary world, enjoying some popularity through reidentification with
Japanese cultural values. Traditional music and dance, which trace their origins to ancient
religious use - Buddhist, Shintō, and folk - have been preserved in the dramatic
performances of Noh, Kabuki, and bunraku theater. Ancient court music and dance forms
deriving from continental sources were preserved through Imperial household musicians
and temple and shrine troupes. Some of the oldest musical instruments in the world have
been in continuous use in Japan from the Jōmon period, as shown by finds of stone and
clay flutes and zithers having between two and four strings, to which Yayoi period metal
bells and gongs were added to create early musical ensembles. By the early historical
period (sixth to seventh centuries CE), there were a variety of large and small drums,
gongs, chimes, flutes, and stringed instruments, such as the imported mandolin-like biwa
and the flat six-stringed zither, which evolved into the thirteen-stringed koto. These
instruments formed the orchestras for the seventh-century continentally derived ceremonial
court music (gagaku), which, together with the accompanying bugaku (a type of court
dance), are the most ancient of such forms still performed at the Imperial court, ancient
temples, and shrines. Buddhism introduced the rhythmic chants, still used, that underpin
Shigin, and that were joined with native ideas to underlay the development of vocal music,
such as in Noh. Aesthetic concepts
Calligraphy of Bodhidharma, ³Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature
and become Buddha´, Hakuin Ekaku, 17th century

Main article: Japanese aesthetics

Japanese art is characterized by unique polarities. In the ceramics of the prehistoric

periods, for example, exuberance was followed by disciplined and refined artistry. Another
instance is provided by two 16th-century structures that are poles apart: the Katsura
Detached Palace is an exercise in simplicity, with an emphasis on natural materials, rough
and untrimmed, and an affinity for beauty achieved by accident; Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a rigidly
symmetrical structure replete with brightly colored relief carvings covering every visible
surface. Japanese art, valued not only for its simplicity but also for its colorful exuberance,
has considerably influenced 19th-century Western painting and 20th century Western
architecture.

Japan's aesthetic conceptions, deriving from diverse cultural traditions, have been formative
in the production of unique art forms. Over the centuries, a wide range of artistic motifs
developed and were refined, becoming imbued with symbolic significance. Like a pearl, they
acquired many layers of meaning and a high luster. Japanese aesthetics provide a key to
understanding artistic works perceivably different from those coming from Western
traditions.
Within the East Asian artistic tradition, China has been the acknowledged teacher and
Japan the devoted student. Nevertheless, several Japanese arts developed their own style,
which can be differentiated from various Chinese arts. The monumental, symmetrically
balanced, rational approach of Chinese art forms became miniaturized, irregular, and subtly
suggestive in Japanese hands. Miniature rock gardens, diminutive plants (bonsai), and
ikebana (flower arrangements), in which the selected few represented a garden, were the
favorite pursuits of refined aristocrats for a millennium, and they have remained a part of
contemporary cultural life.

The diagonal, reflecting a natural flow, rather than the fixed triangle, became the favored
structural device, whether in painting, architectural or garden design, dance steps, or
musical notations. Odd numbers replace even numbers in the regularity of a Chinese
master pattern, and a pull to one side allows a motif to turn the corner of a three-
dimensional object, thus giving continuity and motion that is lacking in a static frontal design.
Japanese painters used the devices of the cutoff, close-up, and fade-out by the twelfth
century in yamato-e, or Japanese-style, scroll painting, perhaps one reason why modern
filmmaking has been such a natural and successful art form in Japan. Suggestion is used
rather than direct statement; oblique poetic hints and allusive and inconclusive melodies
and thoughts have proved frustrating to the Westerner trying to penetrate the meanings of
literature, music, painting, and even everyday language.

The Japanese began defining such aesthetic ideas in a number of evocative phrases by at
least the tenth or eleventh century. The courtly refinements of the aristocratic Heian period
evolved into the elegant simplicity seen as the essence of good taste in the understated art
that is called shibui. Two terms originating from Zen Buddhist meditative practices describe
degrees of tranquility: one, the repose found in humble melancholy (wabi), the other, the
serenity accompanying the enjoyment of subdued beauty (sabi). Zen thought also
contributed a penchant for combining the unexpected or startling, used to jolt one's
consciousness toward the goal of enlightenment. In art, this approach was expressed in
combinations of such unlikely materials as lead inlaid in lacquer and in clashing poetic
imagery. Ênexpectedly humorous and sometimes grotesque images and motifs also stem
from the Zen koan (conundrum). Although the arts have been mainly secular since the Edo
period, traditional aesthetics and training methods, stemming generally from religious
sources, continue to underlie artistic productions.

Artists
Traditionally, the artist was a vehicle for expression and was personally reticent, in keeping
with the role of an artisan or entertainer of low social status. The calligrapher, a member of
the Confucian literati class, or noble samurai class in Japan, had a higher status, while
artists of great genius were often recognized in the Kamakura period by receiving a name
from a feudal lord and thus rising socially. The performing arts, however, were generally
held in less esteem, and the purported immorality of actresses of the early Kabuki theater
caused the Tokugawa government to bar women from the stage; female roles in Kabuki and
Noh thereafter were played by men.

After World War II, artists typically gathered in arts associations, some of which were long-
established professional societies while others reflected the latest arts movement. The
Japan Artists League, for example, was responsible for the largest number of major
exhibitions, including the prestigious annual Nitten (Japan Art Exhibition). The P.E.N. Club
of Japan (P.E.N. stands for prose, essay, and narrative), a branch of an international
writers' organization, was the largest of some thirty major authors' associations. Actors,
dancers, musicians, and other performing artists boasted their own societies, including the
Kabuki Society, organized in 1987 to maintain this art's traditional high standards, which
were thought to be endangered by modern innovation. By the 1980s, however, avant-garde
painters and sculptors had eschewed all groups and were "unattached" artists.

Art schools
There are a number of specialized universities for the arts in Japan, led by the national
universities. The most important is the Tokyo Arts Êniversity, one of the most difficult of all
national universities to enter. Another seminal center is Tama Arts Êniversity in Tokyo,
which produced many of Japan's late twentieth- century innovative young artists. Traditional
training in the arts, derived from Chinese traditional methods, remains; experts teach from
their homes or head schools working within a master-pupil relationship. A pupil does not
experiment with a personal style until achieving the highest level of training, or graduating
from an arts school, or becoming head of a school. Many young artists have criticized this
system as stifling creativity and individuality. A new generation of the avant-garde has
broken with this tradition, often receiving its training in the West. In the traditional arts,
however, the master-pupil system preserves the secrets and skills of the past. Some
master-pupil lineages can be traced to the Kamakura period, from which they continue to
use a great master's style or theme. Japanese artists consider technical virtuosity as the
sine qua non of their professions, a fact recognized by the rest of the world as one of the
hallmarks of Japanese art.

The national government has actively supported the arts through the Agency for Cultural
Affairs, set up in 1968 as a special body of the Ministry of Education. The agency's budget
for FY 1989 rose to Ð37.8 billion after five years of budget cuts, but still represented much
less than 1 percent of the general budget. The agency's Cultural Affairs Division
disseminated information about the arts within Japan and internationally, and the Cultural
Properties Protection Division protected the nation's cultural heritage. The Cultural Affairs
Division is concerned with such areas as art and culture promotion, arts copyrights, and
improvements in the national language. It also supports both national and local arts and
cultural festivals, and it funds traveling cultural events in music, theater, dance, art
exhibitions, and filmmaking. Special prizes are offered to encourage young artists and
established practitioners, and some grants are given each year to enable them to train
abroad. The agency funds national museums of modern art in Kyoto and Tokyo and the
Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, which exhibit both Japanese and international shows. The
agency also supports the Japan Academy of Arts, which honors eminent persons of arts
and letters, appointing them to membership and offering Ð3.5 million in prize money.
Awards are made in the presence of the Emperor, who personally bestows the highest
accolade, the Cultural Medal.

Private sponsorship and foundations

Arts patronage and promotion by the government are broadened to include a new
cooperative effort with corporate Japan to provide funding beyond the tight budget of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs. Many other public and private institutions participate, especially
in the burgeoning field of awarding arts prizes. A growing number of large corporations join
major newspapers in sponsoring exhibitions and performances and in giving yearly prizes.
The most important of the many literary awards given are the venerable Naoki Prize and the
Akutagawa Prize, the latter being the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in the Ênited States.

In 1989 an effort to promote cross-cultural exchange led to the establishment of a Japanese

"Nobel Prize" for the arts, the Premium Imperiale, by the Japan Art Association. This prize
of ÊS$100,000 was funded largely by the mass media conglomerate Fujisankei
Communications Group and was awarded on a worldwide selection basis.

A number of foundations promoting the arts arose in the 1980s, including the Cultural
Properties Foundation set up to preserve historic sites overseas, especially along the Silk
Road in Inner Asia and at Dunhuang in China. Another international arrangement was made
in 1988 with the Ênited States Smithsonian Institution for cooperative exchange of high-
technology studies of Asian artifacts. The government plays a major role by funding the
Japan Foundation, which provides both institutional and individual grants, effects scholarly
exchanges, awards annual prizes, supported publications and exhibitions, and sends
traditional Japanese arts groups to perform abroad. The Arts Festival held for two months
each fall for all the performing arts is sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Major
cities also provides substantial support for the arts; a growing number of cities in the 1980s
had built large centers for the performing arts and, stimulated by government funding, were
offering prizes such as the Lafcadio Hearn Prize initiated by the city of Matsue. A number of
new municipal museums were also providing about one-third more facilities in the 1980s
than were previously available. In the late 1980s, Tokyo added more than twenty new
cultural halls, notably, the large Bunkamura built by Tokyu Group and the reconstruction of
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. All these efforts reflect a rising popular enthusiasm for the
arts. Japanese art buyers swept the Western art markets in the late 1980s, paying record
highs for impressionist paintings and ÊS$51.7 million alone for one blue period Picasso.

Notes

1.c ^ metmuseum.org
2.c ^ "Needless to say, the influence of Greek art on Japanese Buddhist art, via the
Buddhist art of Gandhara and India, was already partly known in, for example, the
comparison of the wavy drapery of the Buddha images, in what was, originally, a
typical Greek style" (Katsumi Tanabe, "Alexander the Great, East-West cultural
contacts from Greece to Japan", p19)
3.c ^ buddhapia.com
4.c ^ [1]
5.c ^ "The Japanese wind god images do not belong to a separate tradition apart from
that of their Western counter-parts but share the same origins. (...) One of the
characteristics of these Far Eastern wind god images is the wind bag held by this
god with both hands, the origin of which can be traced back to the shawl or mantle
worn by Boreas/ Oado." (Katsumi Tanabe, "Alexander the Great, East-West cultural
contacts from Greece to Japan", p21)
6.c ^ "The origin of the image of Vajrapani should be explained. This deity is the
protector and guide of the Buddha Sakyamuni. His image was modelled after that of
Hercules. (...) The Gandharan Vajrapani was transformed in Central Asia and China
and afterwards transmitted to Japan, where it exerted stylistic influences on the
wrestler-like statues of the Guardina Deities (Niō)." (Katsumi Tanabe, "Alexander the
Great, East-West cultural contacts from Greece to Japan", p23)
7.c ^ The transmission of the floral scroll pattern from West to East is presented in the
regular exhibition of Ancient Japanese Art, at the Tokyo National Museum

Southeast Asian Art

Browse Artworks in this section »

Number of objects: close to 900 in the permanent collections, plus over 3,000 ceramic
sherds and other materials in the Freer Study Collection
Historical range: 2,200 B.C.E.±present
View collection highlights »

During his lifetime, Charles Lang Freer acquired just a handful of objects from Southeast
Asia. The Freer and Sackler Galleries' Southeast Asian art collection has grown significantly
in recent years, thanks largely to the contributions of Arthur M. Sackler and other collectors.
The Hauge Collection of Ceramics from mainland Southeast Asia and other donations and
acquisitions vastly enhanced our reputation regarding regional earthenware, stoneware, and
imported Chinese Ceramics. What began as a few pieces of pottery has developed into a
rich and expanding collection of ceramics from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and
Burma, as well as Hindu and Buddhist temple sculpture in stone, bronze, and terra-cotta.

Highlights of the collection include:

6c Neolithic earthenware ceramics from northeast Thailand belonging to the Ban

Chiang culture
6c Hindu and Buddhist temple sculpture from Cambodia and Indonesia, including an
8th-century Buddha head from Borobudur, Central Java (Indonesia)
6c 10th±14th century glazed ceramics from the Khmer empire in Cambodia
6c 12th±17th century glazed ceramics from north and central Vietnam
6c 16th±19th century glazed and unglazed ceramics from northeast Thailand and Laos
Exhibitions

QUES8 WRITE A NOTE ON EUROPEAN ART?

European Art
The DIA's collection of European art is one of the largest and most distinguished in the
Ênited States. With a broad range of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from across
Europe, the collection includes works spanning nearly all historical periods from Ancient
Greece and Rome up to 1950.
The European collection was inaugurated with the gift of a group of 100 Old Master
paintings from newspaper magnate James Scripps in 1889. After years of steady growth,
the collection achieved international stature with the arrival of director William Valentiner in
1924. Ênder his direction, and with the support of numerous benefactors, an outstanding
group of works from artists such as Della Robbia, Bellini, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Rodin,
and many others was assembled. In 1970, Robert H. Tannahill bequeathed his collection of
paintings from the 1800's, which included a strong core of Impressionist and Post-
Impressionist works that significantly enriched the European collection. With ongoing
acquisitions, the collection continues to grow in both breadth and depth every year.
A supremely gifted and versatile German artist of the Renaissance period, Albrecht Dürer
(1471±1528) was born in the Franconian city of Nuremberg, one of the strongest artistic and
commercial centers in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He was a brilliant
painter, draftsman, and writer, though his first and probably greatest artistic impact was in
the medium of printmaking. Dürer apprenticed with his father, who was a goldsmith, and
with the local painter Michael Wolgemut, whose workshop produced woodcut illustrations
for major books and publications. An admirer of his compatriot Martin Schongauer, Dürer
revolutionized printmaking, elevating it to the level of an independent art form. He expanded
its tonal and dramatic range, and provided the imagery with a new conceptual foundation.
By the age of thirty, Dürer had completed or begun three of his most famous series of
woodcuts on religious subjects: The Apocalypse (1498; 19.73.209, 18.65.8), the Large
Woodcut Passion cycle (ca. 1497±1500), and the Life of the Virgin (begun 1500). He went
on to produce independent prints, such as the engraving Adam and Eve (1504; 19.73.1),
and small, self-contained groups of images, such as the so-called Master Engravings
featuring Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513; 43.106.2), Saint Jerome in His Study (1514),
and Melancholia I (1514; 43.106.1), which were intended more for connoisseurs and
collectors than for popular devotion. Their technical virtuosity, intellectual scope, and
psychological depth were unmatched by earlier printed work.

By the age of thirty, Dürer had completed or begun three of his most famous series of
woodcuts on religious subjects: The Apocalypse (1498), the Large Woodcut Passion cycle
(ca. 1497±1500), and the Life of the Virgin (begun 1500).

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (2)

 6c

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More than any other Northern European artist, Dürer was engaged by the artistic practices
and theoretical interests of Italy. He visited the country twice, from 1494 to 1495 and again
from 1505 to 1507, absorbing firsthand some of the great works of the Italian Renaissance,
as well as the classical heritage and theoretical writings of the region. The influence of
Venetian color and design can be seen in the Feast of the Rose Garlands altarpiece (1506;
Prague, Národní Galerie), commissioned from Dürer by a German colony of merchants
living in Venice. Dürer developed a new interest in the human form, as demonstrated by his
nude and antique studies. Italian theoretical pursuits also resonated deeply with the artist.
He wrote Four ¦ooks of Human Proportion (Vier ¦ücher von menschlichen Proportion), only
the first of which was published during his lifetime (1528), as well as an introductory manual
of geometric theory for students (Underweysung der Messung, 1525; 125.97 D932), which
includes the first scientific treatment of perspective by a Northern European artist.

Dürer's talent, ambition, and sharp, wide-ranging intellect earned him the attention and
friendship of some of the most prominent figures in German society. He became official
court artist to Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian I and his successor Charles V, for whom
Dürer designed and helped execute a range of artistic projects. In Nuremberg, a vibrant
center of humanism and one of the first to officially embrace the principles of the
Reformation, Dürer had access to some of Europe's outstanding theologians and scholars,
including Erasmus (19.73.120), Philipp Melanchthon, and Willibald Pirkheimer, each
captured by the artist in shrewd portraits. For Nuremberg's town hall, the artist painted two
panels of the Four Apostles (1526; Munich, ¦ayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte
Pinakothek), bearing texts in Martin Luther's translation that pay tribute to the city's adoption
of Lutheranism. Hundreds of surviving drawings, letters, and diary entries document Dürer's
travels through Italy and the Netherlands (1520±21), attesting to his insistently scientific
perspective and demanding artistic judgment.

The artist also cast a bold light on his own image through a number of striking self-
portraits²drawn, painted, and printed. They reveal an increasingly successful and self-
assured master, eager to assert his creative genius and inherent nobility, while still marked
by a clear-eyed, often foreboding outlook. They provide us with the cumulative portrait of an
extraordinary Northern European artist whose epitaph proclaimed: "Whatever was mortal in
Albrecht Dürer lies beneath this mound."

Source: Albrecht Dürer (1471±1528) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art at the DIACollections

QUES 10 How to Appreciate Art ?

Note that I am not claiming that there is one correct check-list method of looking at art. I am
merely suggesting ways to appreciate and experience art when visiting galleries, museums,
and other art exhibitions and displays since this can sometimes be a daunting task. Note
that I am not claiming that there is one correct check-list method of looking at art. I am
merely suggesting ways to appreciate and experience art when visiting galleries, museums,
and other art exhibitions and displays since this can sometimes be a daunting task.

Most won¶t admit it, but they don¶t know what to look for so I am here to offer some advice to
avoid the two second glance at a visual piece, or the desperate attempt to find clarity in the
exhibition label, or the excited face posing for a photograph next to an art piece they admire.
There are ways however to fulfill the primary purposes of viewing a work of art- for the
pleasure of the eyes, the appreciation and enlightenment a work of art can offer.

The viewing will begin with a powerful quote by Robert Henri obtained from "The Art Spirit"
in 1923:
"The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready
to appreciate good art. He needs no one to give him an art education; he is already
qualified. He needs but to see pictures with his active mind, look into them for the things that
belong to him, and he will find soon enough in himself an art connoisseur and an art lover of
the first order."

If following his wise words, one is sure to be fully involved with the viewing of a work of art.

Most people will start by meandering or scanning through an artspace, which is perfectly
normal. There is no way that anyone can view every piece for several minutes nor are they
interested in everything exhibited. Scan the place to see what you are most attracted to and
go to that artwork.

Then, try to understand what it is that attracted you to this piece (although beauty attracts
many people and many artworks are beautiful, all art isn¶t beautiful so this might not be your
primary reason for liking a particular piece.)

Look up close and take steps back (circle around it if it¶s an installation or sculpture that
allows for engagement at more than one special perspective.) Try to understand why a
certain medium was used, how it feels like physically and how that relates to the visual
product. If a painting look at the brush strokes, the edges between foreground, object and
background, the color transitions, where does light come from, and how do you react
emotionally to the way the piece presents itself.

If a sculpture or installation walk around it, think about the material, how it was made, how it
interacts with the space it¶s in, what do the shapes look like, what effect does it have on you
the viewer.

After personal interaction with the piece on an emotional and raw level where only you
interact according to your primary feelings, it can be helpful to contextualize. This means
looking at the exhibition label, does its title reflect, change, or support the way you initially
reacted to this art piece? The curators of this exhibit put a lot of care and time in creating
the labels or wall panel supporting the artwork through words so it can be helpful to read
what their thoughts are as well as your own. Sometimes contextualizing and knowing how
the art fits in historically can understand why it was special for its time, why people thought it
was so original, and you may learn a bit of art history and ideas also occurring at the time
this artwork was produced.

If you really like the artwork, it can help to keep a personal analog of artists or artworks you
enjoy for future reference or expansion. For instance, you may want to see upcoming
exhibits from this artist to know more about their art, or read up on articles to understand
more about the process and what attracted you to their art in the first place. Resources like
MutualArt.com are fantastic for this type of artistic personal expansion. This can be useful
for students (pretty much anyone who loves art), collectors, teachers, or dealers in the arts.

In the end, once you¶ve fully enjoyed a work of art move on to the next one that attracts your
interest and you will be surprised to find you may be attracted to it for completely different
reasons than the last one. It¶s a journey of self-discovery and visual pleasure so enjoyment
is key. It¶s more important to appreciate new pieces because it will be more memorable than
to give essentially two seconds to every artwork in a museum simply because you feel the
need to step foot on every floor. It takes patience and personal commitment, but then at
least you will have found something you really like and to hold on to

How to Appreciate Art As the Viewer

I am going to suggest ways to appreciate art and experience it in a way that is honest and
fair to the viewer visiting art galleries, art exhibitions, and art museums and other art
displays. Being an art viewer can be very fulfilling and enjoying but it also causes unease
among those who don't really know how to approach art because of all the uncertainty.

It's important to acknowledge that I'm not providing a check-list of ways of looking at art but
providing a guide for more engaging art viewing. I would like to change the attitude some
people have which is giving a two second glance at an artwork (although if you can't grasp
the viewer's interest this is simply being selective) or trying to find meaning in the exhibition
label rather than looking at the art face to face.

First I will start with a quote from Keith Haring in his Journal, October 14, 1978

"The meaning of art as it is experienced by the viewer, not the artist. The artist's ideas are
not essential to the art as seen by the viewer. The viewer is an artist in the sense that he
conceives a given piece of his own way that is unique to him. His own imagination
determines what it is, what it means. The viewer does not have to be considered during the
conception of the art, but should not be told, then, what to think or how to conceive it or
what it means. There is no need for definition."

Second- scanning an artspace is perfectly normal, there is no way that anyone can view
every piece for several minutes nor are they interested in everything exhibited. Scan the
place to see what you are most attracted to and go to that artwork.
Third- Try to understand what it is that attracted you to this piece (although beauty attracts
many people and many artworks are beautiful, all art isn't beautiful so this might not be your
primary reason for liking a particular piece.)

Fourth- Look up close and take steps back (circle around it if it's an installation or sculpture
that allows for engagement at more than one special perspective.) Try to understand why a
certain medium was used, how it feels like physically and how that relates to the visual
product. If a painting look at the brush strokes, the edges between foreground, object and
background, the color transitions, where does light come from, and how do you react
emotionally to the way the piece presents itself.

If a sculpture or installation walk around it, think about the material, how it was made, how it
interacts with the space it's in, what do the shapes look like, what effect does it have on you
the viewer.

Fifth- After personal interaction with the piece on an emotional and raw level where only you
interact according to your primary feelings, it can be helpful to contextualize. This means
looking at the exhibition label, does its title reflect, change, or support the way you initially
reacted to this art piece? The curators of this exhibit put a lot of care and time in creating
the labels or wall panel supporting the artwork through words so it can be helpful to read
what their thoughts are as well as your own. Sometimes contextualizing and knowing how
the art fits in historically can understand why it was special for its time, why people thought it
was so original, and you may learn a bit of art history and ideas also occurring at the time
this artwork was produced.

Sixth- If you really like the art work, it can help to keep a personal analog of artists or
artworks you enjoy for future reference or expansion. For instance, you may want to see
upcoming exhibits from this artist to know more about their art, or read up on articles to
understand more about the process and what attracted you to their art in the first place.
Êsing art information resources and art database searches are fantastic for this type of
artistic personal expansion. This can be useful for students (pretty much anyone who loves
art), collectors, teachers, or dealers in the arts.

Lastly, once you've fully enjoyed a work of art move on to the next one that attracts your
interest and you will be surprised to find you may be attracted to it for completely different
reasons than the last one. It's a journey of self-discovery and visual pleasure so enjoyment
is key. It's more important to appreciate a new pieces because it will be more memorable
than to give two seconds to every artwork in a museum simply because you feel the need to
step foot on every floor.

I'm Kieran Shep an art consultant based in Darien, CT. I share my knowledge on art
markets, art auctions, and art consulting with my readers.

If you would like more information on artists, art articles and news, and upcoming art events
in your area I recommend as a useful art resour