History of Indian Painting and Sculpture
Indian Arts are traditionally carried by the people from the prehistoric period of Indian culture. The art of India can be classified into several time periods each of them reflecting particular religious, political and cultural developments. Arts on painting were normally shown on the walls of the caves, temples and palaces.
Painting is the visual documentation of man's thoughts and experiences. Painting captures the emotions and expressions and retains the impact for a long period. Painting is essentially a combination of lines, forms, colors, tones, texture and space. It attempts to convey the spoken and unspoken expressions with the strokes of a brush.
And the traditional arts on Indian sculpture had begun from the Indus Valley civilization of 2500-1800 BCE, when small terracotta figurines were produced. This was followed by the great circular stone pillars and carved lions of the Maurya period ( 250 BCE), and the mature Indian figurative sculpture of the second and first centuries BCE.
Painting in India
The oldest wall or cave paintings of historical period have been preserved in Ajanta Caves from 2nd century BC. In total there are more than 20 locations in India with paintings of prehistoric times. The most significant frescoes prehistoric time's period are located in Ajanta Caves, Bagh Caves, Ellora Caves, and Sittanavasal.
The Chola-age wall paintings were discovered in 1931 within the circumambulatory passage of the Brihadisvara Temple in India and are the first Chola specimens discovered.
Basically, Indian modern art takes influence from the western world. With many Indian artists immigrating to the west, art for some artists has been a form of expression merging their past with their current in western culture and some new artists feels the art should speak as itself.
According to a modern artist an art must should be communicate with the general public, connect to them and motivate them through some great idea or message behind it.
Visual art and Sculpture in India
The great artist Abanindranath Tagore is called as the father of Modern Indian art introduced reworked Asian styles, in alignment with a developing Indian nationalism and Pan-Asianism to create a new school of art, which is today known as the Bengal school of art.
After independent, Indian painting arts were developed by a group of six artists - K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and Francis Newton Souza - founded the Progressive Artist's Group, to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. Though the group was closed in 1956, it was extremely influential in changing the phrase of Indian art.
The earliest Indian religion to motivate major creative monuments was Buddhism. Obscurity shrouds the period between the decline of the Harappans and the definite historic period starting with the Mauryas. Soon after the Buddhists initiated the rock-cut caves, Hindus and Jains started to imitate them at Badami, Aihole, Ellora, Salsette, Elephanta, Aurangabad and Mamallapuram. Indian rock art has continuously evolved, since the first rock-cut caves, to suit different purposes, social and religious contexts, and regional differences.
Bronze Sculpture in India : The Chola period is famous for its sculptures on bronzes. These sculptures are kept in the various museums of the India and the temples of South India are legendary for many fine figures of Siva in various forms, Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, Siva saints and many more.