History of Indian Art
Domain 2: History of Indian Art
This section tests chronology, patron context, medium and visual character across Indian art, from Harappan remains through cave murals, miniature schools, colonial-era oil painting, the Bengal School, the Progressive Artists' Group and living folk traditions. Expect matching questions, short notes and image-based identification described in words.
Ancient and medieval
Indus Valley art (c. 2500–1500 BCE) includes the bronze Dancing Girl, the Pashupati seal and painted pottery. The Ajanta caves (2nd century BCE–6th century CE) contain Buddhist murals of Jataka stories; the Padmapani Bodhisattva in Cave 1 is Gupta-period. Ajanta painting is dry-plaster secco/tempera-like work, not true fresco, using red and yellow ochre, terre verte, lamp black and lime white, with strong contour lines and no linear perspective. Mughal painting under Akbar used the Hamzanama's bold narrative; Jahangir favoured naturalism and portrait likeness. Rajput schools include Basohli's intense colour and large eyes, and Kangra's lyrical line. Punjabi Sikh painting absorbed Pahari conventions in Guru portraits and Janamsakhi scenes.
Modern
Raja Ravi Varma painted mythological oils with academic realism and disseminated them as lithographs. The Bengal School, led by Abanindranath Tagore with E. B. Havell's support, used a wash technique and nationalist subjects such as Bharat Mata (1905). Amrita Sher-Gil combined post-Impressionist colour with Indian figures. The Progressive Artists' Group formed in Bombay in 1947, including M. F. Husain, F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre and V. S. Gaitonde.
Worked example
If shown a mural with a graceful Bodhisattva, downcast eyes, earth pigments and a dense crowd, attribute it to Ajanta Cave 1, Gupta period. Reasoning: the subject, contour-led modelling and mineral palette fit Ajanta; true-fresco lime technique does not.
Traps
Do not call Ajanta fresco; do not place Ravi Varma in the Bengal School; do not treat all miniatures as Mughal.