India. Art of India. The Art of Ancient India

Each epoch is unique with its own special culture. Similarly, the art of India has been constantly changing for many centuries. In this country, such kinds of art as painting, architecture and sculpture developed.

Formation of art in the country India

The art of India originates from prehistoric rock paintings. In general, the elements of Indian culture are a pure reflection of the mental attitudes of this country, which makes them more introspective. One of them becomes the idea of yoga about the importance of detachment from all distracting external influences and fleeting emotions. Therefore, the surrounding reality plays a secondary role in the country of India. The art of India is distinguished by the fact that the main emphasis in iconography is given to religious and metaphysical, even when elements of modern life are borrowed in ornaments, suits, etc..

Features of the image of the surrounding world

The question of the environment should be considered in the context of the aesthetics of this country, which does not accept superficial naturalism, realism or illusions. What really matters is the "creation of truth," which involves ideal proportions. The art of medieval India is very simple, because nature itself is created complex and reasonable, and only thanks to the signs and symbols it became possible to express it. That's why the symbols play a decisive role here. Simplicity from this point of view does not bear any pejorative meaning that could be observed in decadent art. It boils down to the development of a number of techniques for expressing the true meaning of objects or objects that the artist and sculptor have captured.

The methods of depicting the surrounding reality in art always reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, the contemporary views of one or another epoch. Here we are not talking about perspective, but the techniques and tools used to convey ideas to viewers who at different times were different from an aesthetic point of view did not have any advantages over others in the country India. The art of India is often very symbolic, especially in terms of conveying the nature of things.

Art of the 2nd c. BC. - III in AD

In ancient art, in the II century. BC. - III in AD, you can find a certain emphasis on the social environment. Such artists as, for example, Amaravati, tried to object to the surrounding reality. In their search through symbols, they sought to present not only episodes from the life of the Buddha, but also, for example, the worship of Yaksha and trees, which was very common among the people at that time. But not all the art of ancient India was devoted to aspects of everyday life. Artists always try to emphasize that external phenomena of nature can cause only limited feelings. Nature, in their opinion, is rich in deep symbolic meanings. The art of ancient India is rich in traces of cosmology, which can not be understood without reference to ancient Indian literature. Such features can be found until the VI century in the paintings of Ajanta and Bag.

Indian culture of the VI - X cc.

With the beginning of the Gupta era, new elements began to appear. Artists have lost interest in man, but began to show it to the gods and their habitat. And even with such a shift in emphasis, they still paid attention to the routine, though to a lesser extent. The image of nature began to be more stereotyped. In the Vishnu-dharmottara Purana, written during this period, one can find a special section dedicated to painting, which talks about how conventions should be observed. In the following centuries, in art, we can observe basically only themes dedicated to the gods, and very little - current at that time of life.

Art X - XIV centuries.

After the 10th century in Indian painting, as well as in Buddhist manuscripts, you can find very few elements of nature and modern life. Ignoring the surrounding, the artists concentrated exclusively on Buddhist gods, goddesses and Mandalas. Since they had at their disposal a limited space, the painters were content with depicting gods and goddesses. This fills the manuscripts that they illustrated with magical power, making them the object of worship of admirers in the country of India. The art of India is very original. The only external influences with which the artists were considered were the beliefs of Tantric Buddhism. They were not worried about either the nature or the social conditions of that period.

The Art of India XIV - XVI centuries.

By the end of the 14th century, artists had become a little more interested in the topics surrounding social life. In their works, one can notice the manifestation of Muslim stereotypes in the portrayal of all foreigners who figured in them. This suggests that they had certain opinions about the Turks, who at that time ruled the northern and western parts of India. In their works landscapes were depicted as a separate part of the composition, and not just as a background to specific scenes.

The visual arts of India give a much more vivid picture of people's lives than any other literary sources of the time. In the 16th century this interest remained. Here for the first time there are, for example, images of specific inhabitants of the countryside, farmers and shepherds, as well as women involved in daily household life. Nature also became much more widely represented, full-scale illustrations of forests and wildlife appeared. The art of India began to be filled with new meanings.