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    Ajanta Cave Paintings

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    matthias
    The document provides details about the Ajanta cave paintings located in Maharashtra, India, including a brief history of the paintings from the 1st to 7th centuries AD, the salient features of the paintings such as the Buddhist subject matter and heroic proportions, and descriptions of the techniques used to prepare the painting grounds and apply pigments in fresco and tempera styles. The paintings primarily illustrate stories from the Jataka tales about the previous lives of the Buddha.

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    Ajanta Cave Paintings

    Uploaded by

    matthias
    214 views8 pages
    The document provides details about the Ajanta cave paintings located in Maharashtra, India, including a brief history of the paintings from the 1st to 7th centuries AD, the salient features of the paintings such as the Buddhist subject matter and heroic proportions, and descriptions of the techniques used to prepare the painting grounds and apply pigments in fresco and tempera styles. The paintings primarily illustrate stories from the Jataka tales about the previous lives of the Buddha.

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    The document provides details about the Ajanta cave paintings located in Maharashtra, India, including a brief history of the paintings from the 1st to 7th centuries AD, the salient features of the paintings such as the Buddhist subject matter and heroic proportions, and descriptions of the techniques used to prepare the painting grounds and apply pigments in fresco and tempera styles. The paintings primarily illustrate stories from the Jataka tales about the previous lives of the Buddha.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    214 views8 pages

    Ajanta Cave Paintings

    Uploaded by

    matthias
    The document provides details about the Ajanta cave paintings located in Maharashtra, India, including a brief history of the paintings from the 1st to 7th centuries AD, the salient features of the paintings such as the Buddhist subject matter and heroic proportions, and descriptions of the techniques used to prepare the painting grounds and apply pigments in fresco and tempera styles. The paintings primarily illustrate stories from the Jataka tales about the previous lives of the Buddha.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 8

    Subject: History (H)

    Semester: 4th

    Paper: SEC-B (2): Art Appreciation: an Introduction to Indian Art.

    Topic: Ajanta Cave Paintings

    Name of the faculty: Nafisa Sarkar

    -----------------------------------------

    CONTENT

    1.1 Introduction
    1.2 A brief history of Ajanta cave paintings
    1.3 Salient features of Ajanta paintings
    1.4 Method of ground preparation
    1.5 Painting technique
    1.6 Suggested readings and documentaries

    ----------------------------------------------

    1.1 Introduction
    The rock-cut caves of Ajanta, carved out of granite cliffs in Wagora river valley near Ajanta
    village in the Aurangabad district of Maharastra, house possibly the finest and earliest surviving
    wall paintings (frescoes) of the ancient world. The wall paintings there belong from circa 1 st to
    7th A.D., reaching its zenith during the Gupta period. Most of the paintings depict Budhist
    subject. It was accidentally discovered by a British hunting party headed by Captain John Smith
    in 1819. Since then many orientalists, archaeologists and indologists have helped to unveil this
    great wonder of the world. The site is a protected monument in the care of Archaeological
    Survey of India (ASI) and was designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

    AJANTA CAVES, MAHARASTRA


    1.2 A Brief History of Ajanta Cave Paintings
    The Ajanta cave paintings belong from circa1 st to 7th A.D. Out of 29 Ajanta caves only 16 were
    recorded to have contained painting in greater or lesser degree in 1879. At present paintings in
    only 6 caves out of 16 exist. These caves are 1, 2, 9, 10, 16 and 17, and in all of them the whole
    of the walls and also pillars and ceilings have been painted. When it is understood that some of
    these halls measure over sixty feet square, the painting that remains represent a very considerable
    quantity. On the basis of periods of time the frescos of Ajanta may be classified as under:

    a) Caves 9 and 10 circa A.D. 100.


    b) Pillars in cave 10 circa A.D. 350 (perhaps later).
    c) Caves 16 and 17 circa A.D.500.
    d) Caves 1 and 2 circa A.D 626-628.

    The paintings in caves 9 and 10 are the oldest and appear to have been executed when the
    surrounding country was under the rule of a dynasty of Dravidian kings (c.27 B.C.-236 A.D.).
    They bear some resemblance to the
    sculptures of Bharhut, Amaravati and
    Sanchi.

    FRESCO WITH BUDHA IN ORANGE


    ROBES AND PROTECTED BY CHATRA,
    CAVE-9
    The presumed date of pillars of cave 10 is about c.350 A.D. and coincides with the Gupta
    period when great encouragement was given to all forms of art. The paintings here are mainly
    single figure subjects and bear a close resemblance to the Gandhara (Greco-Budhist) sculptures
    of the North-West Frontier.

    THE BUDHA IN LONG, HEAVY ROBE, A DESIGN DERIVED FROM THE ART OF
    GANDHARA, CAVE-10 PILLAR PAINTINGS.

    Caves 16 and 17 of the series depict the Budhist art as it was practiced in the 6th century. At this
    time the region was under the rule of Vakataka dynasty. Some of the compositions of cave 16 are
    exceptionally fine, notably the treatment of figures with a pagoda-like architecture. Works of
    cave 17 are representative work of the Budhist School. A fresco of cave 17 illustrates the Maha
    Vamsa Jataka.
    DEPICTION FROM HAMSA JATAKA, THE BUDHA AS THE GOLDEN GOOSE IN HIS
    PREVIOUS LIFE, CAVE-17
    The latest paintings of all are to be found in caves 1 and 2. The paintings of cave 1 are strong,
    confident and emphatic in its meaning. It contains the famous painting of ‘The Great
    Renunciation’. The paintings of cave 2 reflect the state of religion at that time. It showed
    restlessness and there were mixture of both Persian and Chinese influence. The paintings depict
    the Hamsa, Vidhurapandita, Ruru, Kshanti Jataka tales and the Purna Avadhana.

    ONE OF THE FOUR FRESCOES FROM MAHAJANAKA JATAKA, THE KING


    ANNOUNCES HIS DECISION TO ABDICATE AND BECOME AN ASCETIC, CAVE-1
    A SCENE FROM VIDURAPANDITA JATAKA: THE BIRTH OF BUDHA, CAVE-2

    1.3 Salient Features of Ajanta Cave Paintings


     The Ajanta paintings are wall frescoes.
     These paintings are not the product of a single undertaking. In fact, it resolves itself into a
    number of distinct groups, representing various styles and period.
     These paintings depict mostly Budhist subjects and mainly illustrate the Jataka incidents
    from the previous lives of Budha.
     Most of the compositions are of heroic proportion.
     Centrality is one of the main features of the compositions. So that attention is at once
    drawn to the most important person in each scene.
     Another important feature of Ajanta paintings is treatment of gesture, especially in the
    expressive action of hands.
     In sentiment the art is intensely emotional, uplifting the observer by its forceful
    expressiveness.
     Ajanta paintings have been executed by artist priest.
     The technical process by which these paintings were excecuted is considered by artists to
    be tempera and fresco.
    1.4 Method of Ground Preparation
    Over the surface of rough excavated wall of rock a mixture of clay, cowdung and pulverized trap
    rock was applied to the thickness of 1/8th to 3/4th of an inch. This ground was then coated with an
    exceedingly thin layer of white plaster about the thickness of an egg shell. On this polished shell-
    like surface the frescoes were painted in water colour.

    As to the actual process employed in the application of pigment there is a considerable


    difference of opinion. It was either ‘true fresco’ (the fresco buono of Italian artists) or a
    combination of this method and tempera painting (fresco asecco).

    1.5 Painting Technique


    After the completion of ground preparation the composition was sketched out by the artist in
    bold red and was subsequently corrected in many places with a strong black or brown line.
    Thereafter a thin semi transparent terraverte monochrom was applied. Over the preliminary glaze
    the Indian artist worked in local colour- red, yellow, brown and blacks.

    1.6 Suggested Readings and Documentaries


    Percy Brown, The Heritage of India: Indian Painting, Oxford University Press, London.

    Partha Mitter, Indian Art, Oxford History of Art Series, Oxford University Press, 2001

    Painting of India- Enchanted Ajanta, Doordarshan National, www.youtube.com


    http://youtu.be/a1SdRCHESM https

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