History of Indian Art and Aesthetics
What this domain tests
A chronological spine of Indian art plus the technical vocabulary of Indian aesthetics.
Chronology to hold
Indus Valley seals and the bronze Dancing Girl; Mauryan pillars and the Sarnath capital; Bharhut and the Sanchi railings and toranas; Ajanta murals, notably caves 1 and 17; Ellora and Elephanta; Gupta Buddhas in the Mathura and Sarnath idioms; Chola bronzes; Mughal painting from Akbar's studio to Jahangir's naturalism; Rajasthani and Pahari schools; Company painting; Raja Ravi Varma's oil mythologicals; the Bengal School with Abanindranath Tagore's wash technique and Gaganendranath; Nandalal Bose at Santiniketan; Amrita Sher-Gil; Jamini Roy's folk-derived line; the Progressive Artists' Group of 1947 - F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade.
Aesthetics vocabulary
- Shadanga, the six limbs of painting from the Chitrasutra tradition: rupabheda (differentiation of forms), pramanam (proportion), bhava (emotion), lavanya yojana (graceful composition), sadrishya (resemblance), varnikabhanga (colour and brush handling).
- Rasa theory from Bharata's Natyashastra: shringara, hasya, karuna, raudra, veera, bhayanaka, bibhatsa, adbhuta, with shanta added later. Rasa is the relish produced in the spectator when bhava is fully evoked.
Worked example
A short answer asks why Ajanta is mural painting rather than easel painting. Response: it is executed on a prepared mud-and-lime wall in situ, integrated with architecture, read as narrative in sequence, and modelled by tonal shading within contour - not a portable framed panel.
Traps
- Confusing shadanga with rasa.
- Attributing Santiniketan to Ravi Varma.
- Reciting dates without school, patron, medium and one identifying feature.