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Best Indian Paintings in history 2024

Indian Paintings in history

India has an artistic tradition, and painting is one of the mouth-watering mediums used to express it. Indian painting has been developed since ancient times. In India prehistoric humans were engaged in art and recreational activities

Indian Paintings in history: can be traced back to ancient and mediaeval times, where books were made from paintings, the art of miniature painting came which was dominated by the Mughal and Rajput courts.

With a rich and varied history spanning millennia, Indian Paintings in history reflects the social, religious, and cultural life of the Indian subcontinent.

miniature paintings

The rock drawings found in ancient caves, like those at Bhimbetka, which date back to 30,000 years, are among the earliest instances of Indian art. Different empires, religions, and civilizations have all had an impact on the stages and styles that Indian art has undergone throughout the years.

 

During the classical era, elaborate mural paintings with religious themes and images from the life of the Buddha began to appear in locations such as the Ajanta and Ellora caves. During the Middle Ages, miniature painting gained popularity, with several schools such as the Mughal, Rajput, Pahari, and Deccan styles. These paintings frequently have topics, rich colors, and minute details.

Modern painters experimented with styles and designs, gained worldwide recognition from many Indian painters, won book awards and praised for their imagination.

Indian Paintings in history can be traced back to the ancient rock paintings of Bhimbetka, Mirzapur and Panchmadi, followed by the painted pottery of the Indus Valley Civilization, but the actual painting begins with Gupta time.

 

Indian Paintings in history During the 3rd century A.D., Vasayayana in his book Kamasutra mentioned six main principles from Chitrakala which are as follows

Difference of form                                                        Variation

Ratio of object or subject                                             Proof

Creating brightness and light with colors.                  Expressions

Depth of emotions                                                        Lavni Yojna.

Illustrations of subject’s Likewise                                Similarly law

Mixing colors evenly with modelling effects                vitreous breakdown

 

Principles of Indian Paintings in history Many reference examples for painting in Brahmanical and Buddhist literature are seen as myths and legends

In the painting it is seen that it consists of Orkhan’s and sketches, Dhauli paintings, pattachitra etc. The Mudrarakshasa drama composed by Vishakhadatta also mentions the names of various paintings or pattas for the readers.

Styles of paintings. Give features. Draw with dog. Feeling in love pictures. Develop tickle fight recession. Young people Isolated Painting. 

 

Styles of painting                                         key features  

 

Chowk pitaka                                              falling love pictures

Dighale pitaka                                            fight recession

Yama pitaka                                               isolated painting

 

Pri -historic paintings

  Prehistoric paintings were done on Rocks and called Petroglyphs. The first set of prehistoric paintings was discovered in the caves of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.  

Pri -historic paintings

There are three main stages of prehistoric painting, Indian Paintings in history

Upper Paleolithic Period

Mesolithic Age

Chalcolithic period

Upper Paleolithic period (40,000-10,000BC)

The walls of the rock shelter caves were made of quartzite stones. And hence they used minerals for color, the most common mineral substance, was ochre mixed with lime and water. They used different minerals to make colors like red, white, yellow and green.  This broadened his interest. White, black, red and green were used to depict large animals like wild Buffalo, elephant, rhinoceros, tiger etc.

Upper Paleolithic paintings

Mesolithic age (10,000-4000 BC)

Red color was mainly used during this period. The size of the paintings became smaller during this period compared to the upper politic period. 

Copper Stone Age Indian Paintings in history

During this period, the number of paintings using green and yellow colors increased. Most of the paintings focus on depictions of war scenes. There are many paintings or people riding horses and elephants. Some of them are also carrying bows and arrows indicating preparation for an encounter.

These cave sites were inhabited even in the post-historic period because we have found specimens of Brahmi script inscriptions and drawings from both the Ashoka and Gupta periods. Another group of paintings from this period has been found from Narsingh in Madhya Pradesh, in other paintings of this period musical instruments like Veena have also been depicted.

Bhimbetka Paintings Indian Paintings in history

It is situated in the Vindhya Mountain range of Madhya Pradesh, South of Bhopal. There are more than 500 rock paintings in this shelter. In 2003, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The earliest ancient paintings are estimated to be 30,000 years old and have survived due to their deep location inside the caves.

The paintings made in Bhimbetka, or the late Paleolithic period belong to the early historical and mediaeval period on the Mesolithic Chalcolithic period. But most of these paintings belong to the Pada Stone Age in which humans are wearing weapons like bow, arrow, spear, shield and sword. The paintings also have simple jamatia designs and symbols, other themes of the paintings are dance, playing music, fighting animals, collecting honey etc.

Social life has been well concerned with the presence of children playing, women cooking, community, dance, etc. Red, saffron, purple, almond, white, yellow and green have been used. The colors have been obtained from natural resources. For example, hematite ore was used for red color.

conclusion

Indian Paintings in history depict the various civilizations, religions, and philosophical systems that have formed the subcontinent during their millennia-long history. From the elaborate miniatures of the Mughal era to the age-old paintings of Ajanta and Ellora, Indian art has developed via a variety of forms, each with its own distinct aesthetic and cultural value.

 

Early art was primarily religious in nature, with paintings of images from Buddhist Jataka stories and Hindu epics gracing the walls of temples and caves. Under the support of the Mughals, Rajput, and other local courts, miniature painting flourished during the classical era, fusing Persian influences with native customs.

 

Indian Paintings in history with the infusion of European methods and viewpoints during the colonial era, there was a change in style that gave rise to the Bengal School of Art, which aimed to address modern problems while resurrecting old techniques.

Indian art developed further after independence, adopting modernism and abstract expressionism to symbolize the nation’s continuous search for identity in a world that was changing quickly.

 

In general, Indian paintings provide a window into the material and spiritual lives of the people of India across many historical eras, therefore attesting to the nation’s rich cultural legacy.

 

                               

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