Sculpture Art is probably one of the oldest art forms that continue to exist and we have evidence of that from the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation (c.3300-1300 BCE). The human and animal figurines as well as the religious sculptures of the different periods are found in India. The sculptures can be a good basis for recreating and understanding our past and we can trace the history of sculptures in India from ancient times. For example, the excavated sculptures from the Harrapan ages and Mesopotamian ages shed immense light on ancient ancestors and their lifestyles.
Indian sculpture artists have largely been fascinated with mythology and religion as these are strongly blended within the culture. Sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses, Lord Buddha, and so on are some of the most common themes in sculpture art as seen from ancient times. India also boasts of sculptures of animals, birds, and human figures, depicting mundane life.
1. Bengal Art – Bengal art was a movement and a style of painting that was originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan. During the British Raj in the early 20th century, it also flourished throughout India. This school had the influence of Indian spiritual ideas, Mughal art and nationalist sentiments. One of the best paintings from this school is Tagore’s painting, Bharat Mata (Mother India), depicting a young woman, portrayed with four arms in the manner of Hindu deities, holding objects symbolic of India’s national aspirations.
Main artists and painters – Painters and artists of Bengal school were Nandalal Bose, M.A.R Chughtai, Sunayani Devi (sister of Abanindranath Tagore), Manishi Dey, Mukul Dey, Kalipada Ghoshal, Asit Kumar Haldar, Sudhir Khastgir, Kshitindranath Majumdar, Sughra Rababi, Abanindranath Tagore, Amit Sarkar, Ajoy Ghosh, Sankarlal Aich, Amal Chaklader, Narendranath De Sarkar, Sukti Subhra Pradhan and Ratan Acharya. Some of the best-known artists of present-day Bengal are Jogen Chowdhury, Mrinal Kanti Das, Gopal Sanyal, Ganesh Pyne, Manishi Dey, Shanu Lahiri, Ganesh Haloi, Jahar Dasgupta, Samir Aich, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Sudip Roy, Ramananda Bandopadhyay and Devajyoti Ray. Sanat Chatterjee and Asit Kumar Haldar.
2. Gandhar Art –Gandhar art was developed between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century CE, in the north-western part of India. It had the style of Greco-Roman origin and flourished largely during the Kushana dynasty. The Gandhara region had long been a cultural confluence. Under Ashoka (3rd century BCE), the region became the scene of intensive Buddhist missionary activity, like many other parts of India. In the 1st century CE, rulers of the Kushan empire, which included Gandhara, maintained contact with Rome.
Gandhara art represented the depiction of the seated Buddha with a youthful Apollo-like face, half-closed eyes, curly hair, dressed in garments resembling those seen on Roman imperial statues.
Gandhara sculptures were made using materials like green phyllite and grey-blue mica-schist during the earlier phases, and stucco after the 3rd century CE. The sculptures were originally well painted and gilded.
3. Mathura Art – Mathura art developed in the trading and an important pilgrimage centre of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The style of ancient Buddhist sculpture Mathura art flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 12th century CE. Mathura art is predominately Indian influenced.
The Mathura art includes both standing and seated statues of the Buddha. The sculptures of Buddha developed out of an earlier tradition of large Yaksha (male nature deity). These statues have broad shoulders, large chest, legs apart, and feet firmly planted, conveying a sense of enormous energy. The Buddha’s right arm is raised in a gesture of reassurance called Abhaya-Mudra. Some other characteristics of the Mathura art are a round smiling face and a shaven head of Buddha. In later sculptures, the hair began to be treated as a series of short flat spirals lying close to the head and that style came to be the standard representation of the Buddha’s hair throughout the Buddhist world.
Female figures of Mathura art were found carved in high relief on the pillars and gateways of both Buddhist and Jain monuments. Their nude or seminude figures are often depicted dancing, bathing, or adorning themselves. They are also frequently shown in association with trees, indicating that they developed out of Yakshini (female nature deity) tradition in the region. Yakshini figures as a symbol of fertility and abundance had a popular appeal that persisted with Buddhism.
Contemporary Jain and Hindu images were carved at Mathura in the same style as the Buddhist images. However, Mathura art portraits the Kushan kings, in a markedly different style. These stiff and rigid statues are dressed in Central Asian fashion, with belted tunics, high boots, and conical caps, a style of dress also used for representations of the Hindu sun god, Surya.
Mathura sculptures were carved on red sandstone.
4. Tanjore art – Tanjore (Thanjavur) was the cultural capital of the Cholas and later Nayaks under the suzerainty of the Vijayanagar empire. During the 17th century, the period when the Nayaks encouraged art, classical dance, music and literature, In the early 18th century, it reached the zenith of its cultural development with sculptures and murals on the walls of the temples.
Tanjore art serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints. The stories from Hindu texts ‘Puranas’, and other religious texts were visualised, sketched or traced and painted with the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture.
Tanjore art and paintings are characterised by the use of rich and vivid colours, simple iconic composition, glittering gold foils overlaid on delicate but extensive gesso work along with the inlay of glass beads and pieces or very rarely precious and semi-precious gems.
The Tanjore art has the influence of Deccani, Vijayanagar, Maratha and even European or Company styles of painting.
5. Madhubani art – Madhubani Art is also known as Mithila painting. It is a style of Indian wall art painting, practised in the Mithila region of Bihar state. Earlier, the paintings were traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts, but now the paintings are also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas.
This painting is done with a variety of tools such as matchsticks, fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and using natural dyes and pigments. It is characterised by its eye-catching patterns of various geometrical. shapes Madhubani art has ritual content for particular auspicious occasions, such as birth or marriage, and festivals, such as Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja, Upanayana, and Durga Puja etc.
Madhubani paintings usually depict people and their association with nature, scenes and deities from the ancient texts. It includes natural objects like the Sun, the Moon, and holy plants like Tulsi, Pipal and Vat Vruksh etc. are also widely painted. Apart from that, scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings are also painted. In Madhupabani art, generally, no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs.
6. Rajasthani art – Jain temples and monasteries had mural paintings from at least 2,000 years ago, though pre-medieval survivals are rare. In addition, many Jain manuscripts were illustrated with paintings, sometimes lavishly so. Rajasthani art is a fusion of Ajanta art and local traditions. Because of Islamic invaders, many artists had left Gujarat and settled in Rajasthan and the other parts of India. Earlier paintings of Rajasthani art were highly influenced by Jainism (Apbhransh style) and after the 15th-century Rajasthani style independently developed.
In Rajasthani art, the illustrations are squarish panels set in the text, with wiry drawings, brilliant, even jewel-like bright colours. The figures in Rajasthani art, are always seen in three-quarter view, with distinctive long pointed noses and protruding eyes. There is a convention whereby the more distant side of the face protrudes so that both eyes are clearly visible.
Rajasthani art includes paintings and sculptures and the following are the subcategories of the same.
Maru Gurjara architecture – Thi architecture style is also known as Solaṅkī style and it is a distinctive style that began in Rajasthan and neighbouring Gujarat. It has been revived and taken to other parts of India and the world by both Hindus and Jains. This style emphasises great numbers of small, sharply-carved figures, rather than larger single figures or groups. These include friezes with repeated figures of animals, sometimes with human riders, running around the bases of temples.
Rajput paintings – Developed under patronage of various Rajput courts of Rajasthan. The main schools of Rajasthan paintings are Marwar school, Mewar school, Hadoti school and Dhundar school
Phad paintings– This is another sub-category of Rajasthani art that has distinctive features such as colourful scroll paintings done on cloth, depicting the narratives by Bhopa singers/reciters. These styles and patterns are very popular due to their vibrant colours and historic themes. The Phad of God Devnarayan is the largest among the popular Phads in Rajasthan. It has a painted area of 170 square feet.
7. Mughal art – Mughal art is a North Indian painting style confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums. The Mughal arts subjects are rich in variety and include portraits, events and scenes from court life, wildlife and hunting scenes, and illustrations of battles.
In the portraits, the pose rarely varied as it was to have the head in strict profile, but the rest of the body half-turned towards the viewer. Generally, portraits were always of men, often accompanied by generalized female servants or concubines; another popular subject area was realistic studies of animals and plants, mostly flowers which were used at buildings as well as illustrated books.
