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Indian Art, Women Dancing

Indian Art

A glimpse of Art in India:

Indian art, as we know it now, has its roots spread across thousands of years, the earliest forms coming from around 3500 BC. As a country, India gained massive respect from it's broad cultural heritage acquired over this period.

Indian Art painting, three women

On this page I aim to cover all aspects of art in India in all of it's glory, right from it's humble beginnings as ancient wall paintings over 6000 years ago including Indian art temples , erotic Indian art, Indian Body Art, dance, Indian Paintings, all the way through to Modern Indian art, present and future.

Read on or follow the links for further information.

Art and Indian Mythology

After it's beginnings as basic wall paintings and it's role in Temples, monasteries, and shrines , Indian Art saw a great transformation in the form of materials used and the message conveyed around 3000 BC. The focus slowly shifted towards the great epics and myths being portrayed on canvas using various and vibrant colours. The primary components are usually of Ramayana & Mahabharat.

Indian Art and Mytholgy, Putna Vadha

Along with paintings and sculptures, people started presenting these as plays and dramas to spread the messages of the great epics. These were very popular in fairs, villages and small cities.

Indian Art, Statue, Krishna dances over the serpant

Miniature Paintings

The art of Miniature paintings was a golden era in India’s art history. The art of miniature paintings became popular in India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The miniature paintings depicted the life and lifestyle of the Mughal and Rajput Kings of the time.

Indian Miniature painting, Indian art

Originally, the miniature paintings were used as parts of manuscripts written at that time to help illustrate and explain the subjects and themes of the scripts. Prime examples are the Rajasthani, Jain and Mughal miniatures. Though this style had been perfected by artisans under the various rules, not many origional pieces remain today.

Art and Dance

The existence of various dance forms [Kathakali, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak ..] became very popular. These were brilliantly supported by music and various instruments. The prevalence of various Raga’s and instruments was spread and many students were trained in these forms. Temples acted as the primary grounds of learning and grooming the students. Dancers and musicians were given very high respect in Indian society and were felicitated by the rulers of the country.

Indian art Dance, dance silohette

Almost at the same time, Indian folk Art was gaining considerable popularity. The country started to develop various dialects and people used these dialects to communicate. Translations of the great epics to the local dialects also played an important part of Rural Indian Art. Folk dances, Music and all related art were groomed well within their regions. The plays and concerts became an integral part of people’s lives.

During the countries Independence, people saw yet another great transformation in India Art...

Moving Forward

Modern Indian Art, Rameshwar Singh

Rameshwar Singh

During the colonial era, some artists in India developed a style that used Western ideas of composition, perspective and realism to illustrate Indian themes while others like Jamini Roy, consciously drew inspiration from folk art. By the time of Independence in 1947, many schools of art in India started providing access to modern techniques and ideas. Art Galleries were established to showcase the work of these artists. Modern Indian art typically shows the influence of Western styles, but is often inspired by Indian themes and images.

Great scholars and artists like Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ravi Varma and many others saw extensive usage of oil and canvas in India Art. In fact, Rabindranath Tagore is often referred to as the father of Modern Indian Art. There were several schools & colleges who have introduced courses in fine arts as a part of their curriculum. Many students showed interest in the same and have become degree holders from universities in the field of fine art. The government also promoted this greatly and has established several universities for Fine Arts.

Modern Indian Art, Ocean, Sohan Qadri

Sohan Qadri

Post independence India Art has greatly seen the influence of western culture. The dance forms like rock, disco, salsa and others have become quite popular, especially towards the end of the century. A majority of the local instruments have been replaced by drums, Jazz, Guitar and so on .. Although the impact of these various forms is on the rise, there still exist a lot of Indian population who have nurtured the ancient art of the county and preserved it. Along with preserving, a lot of art exhibitions and shows are conducted to keep the new generation aware of the ancient India Art, which was a unique identity of the country.



Anita Dube, Indian modern Art, River diesease

Anita Dube

Over all, India Art has seen various changes throughout its course. Started way back in approximately 3500 BC with primarily sculptors, evolved to paintings, saw the emergence of various dance forms, musicians and instruments supporting them, which later saw the promotion of local India Art [also known as Folk], and finally the usage of canvas and oil paintings and emergence of modern art. Hopefully I have covered most aspects of Indian Art and its development in the past centuries. As for the future, well who knows!

With great pride in the past and hope for the future, Indian Artists stand strong with their head held high.


Further Reading

India art in Temples, Monasteries and Shrines

Indian Body art

Indian art Paintings

Return from Indian Art

Abstract Indian Art


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