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- The artwork of the Ajanta cave temples has had a major impact on the definition of Indian artistic identity and upon the modern art movement in India. This paper describes the history and construction of the caves and their specific stylistic and ideological influence of and interpretation by various key figures of the modern art movement.
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Ajanta’s art recounts the life of Lord Buddha, including his previous earthly experiences, and the Jataka tales. Cave 26, seen here, is a chaitya, and features a sculpture of Lord...
The rediscovery of ancient Indian paintings at Ajanta provided Indian artists with examples from ancient India to follow. Nandalal Bose experimented with techniques to follow the ancient style which allowed him to develop his unique style. Abanindranath Tagore and Syed Thajudeen also used the Ajanta paintings for inspiration.
- 8,242 ha
- 1983 (7th Session)
- Cultural: i, ii, iii, vi
- Overview
- Monasteries and sanctuaries
- Avalokiteśvara
- Ceiling painting
By Dr. Ajanta Shah
Hidden away in the hills of northwest India, some 200 miles from the busy streets of Mumbai, emerges a magnificent jewel of art and religion: the Ajanta Caves.
The caves, cut into the face of a mountain, form a horseshoe shape around the Wangorah River. They are an example of one of Indian's unique artistic traditions known as rock-cut temples. Ajanta consists of thirty caves, each dedicated to the life of the Buddha.
Each cave is filled with sculptures, wall murals, and ceiling paintings. Though much of this site has collapsed, what remains at Ajanta has allowed a glimpse into the artistic traditions of ancient India.
The
were cut into the mountainside in two distinct phases. Discovered by chance in 1819 by British soldiers on a hunt, the Ajanta Caves have become an icon of ancient Indian art, and have influenced subsequent
. The caves at the site are not numbered chronologically. Instead, their numbering is based on location, beginning with cave 1 on the north side of the horseshoe. All of the caves at Ajanta fall into the category of Vihara (monasteries with residence halls), or Chaitya-grihas (sanctuaries/stupa monument halls). Nevertheless, each cave has its own unique characteristics, making it difficult to write about Ajanta as a whole.
The Ajanta caves are engulfed in darkness. In fact, this lack of light is crucial to the experience at Ajanta, demanding the viewer’s time while intensifying a sense of the mystery. There may have been dim artificial lighting created by oil lamps in the past. However, even today, the majority of the caves remain almost completely dark, and without the help of artificial lighting, the caves remain in their original state.
Cave 1 is a magnificently painted Vihara, filled with wall murals, sculptures, and ceiling paintings, that date back to the fifth century. Originally, Cave 1 also had a porch which led to the main hall; however, it has since collapsed.
The main hall of Cave 1 is a square in plan, with aisles along all four sides. Adjacent to these aisles are doorways leading to fourteen small chambers. Cave 1 contains twenty painted and carved pillars. Above the pillars are reliefs depicting tales from the life of Buddha (Jatakas). Located at the rear of the hall is a large shrine of the Buddha. The walls were originally covered in paintings, but today there are only nine surviving images, the most famous being the
This painting can be found to the left on the main shrine. It depicts one of the most beloved bodhisattvas, Avalokiteśvara. The term "bodhisattva" refers to a person that has been awakened by the Buddhist spirit. According to
doctrine, Avalokiteśvara postponed his ascension into Buddhahood until he assisted every being in achieving Nirvana. Avalokiteśvara takes the largest number of forms across Asia. Originally a masculine form, Avalokiteśvara is also known as the feminine Guanyin in China and Kuan Yin in Japan.
If you look up from the beautiful wall paintings, you see the geometric designs and motifs that adorn the ceiling. There are also images of peacocks, subtly decorated in blue paint made from
. One of the panels shows a decorative vegetable motif that looks similar to our modern-day green bell pepper. In addition to this, there is a creature with a bull's head whose body transforms into swirling curvaceous lines that blend into the floral decoration of the next panel.
The ceiling paintings are so beautiful that one of the panels, which depicts a running elephant surrounded by flowers, was chosen as the official logo of India's Department of Tourism. The elephant is shown playfully galloping as his trunk swirls close to his body.
The painting techniques at Ajanta are similar to the
. The primary difference is that the layer of plaster was dry when it was painted. First, a rough plaster of clay, cow dung, and rice husks were pressed on to the rough cave walls. This was then coated with lime paste in order to create a smooth working surface. The dark outlines of the figures were then added followed by a palette of only 6 colors. The pigments the artists used came from natural resources: red and yellow ocher, crushed green malachite, blue lapis lazuli, etc.
In 1983, UNESCO World Heritage Centre selected the Ajanta Caves to be a part of their preservation endeavors. Today, the caves at Ajanta remain one of the most visited architectural sites in India. They are a living representation of one of the grandest artistic styles in Indian art and history.
Dec 6, 2023 · Discovered by chance in 1819 by British soldiers on a hunt, the Ajanta Caves have become an icon of ancient Indian art, and have influenced subsequent artists and styles. The caves at the site are not numbered chronologically. Instead, their numbering is based on location, beginning with cave 1 on the north side of the horseshoe.
Jan 16, 2020 · The Ajanta paintings and the Didarganj Yakshi, which exhibited a very sophisticated and highly refined degree of artistic and aesthetic merit, gave Indian art an indigenous style. Most importantly, they were considered at par with art works in the Western world.
- Anshika Jain
21-31 September, 1995. The paintings of Ajanta are a landmark of transcendental importance in Indian art. Because they represent the only well preserved example of ancient mural painting, they are now considered an essential point of reference of the study of not only subsequent Indian art, but also the Buddhist art in the rest of Asia.
The Ajanta caves, an archaeological site consisting of around 30 rock cut caves, situated in the Northwest of the Indian Subcontinent, 100km northeast of what is today the city of Aurangabad, exemplify the influence of this artistic style and its enduring legacy throughout the Silk Roads.
