ShalinIndia Art

Fine Art Miniatures India Folk Paintings are practiced in Jaipur and Bikaner regions of Rajasthan. Miniatures paintings are intricate, colorful handmade illuminations or paintings, small in size, executed meticulously with delicate brushwork. The colors used in the Asian Art miniatures are derived from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, pure gold and silver. Some of the noted miniature schools were those of Mughals, Rajputs and Deccan. These Asian Art miniatures recreate historical episodes or tales of mythology in Schools that have come to be identified with the different kingdoms that merged in Rajasthan. Fine brush strokes signify miniatures from Jaipur and Udaipur, the Bundi and Kotah kalams are known for their scenes of battle and of shikar (hunts) while the Kishangarh School does portraits with Radha Krishna as the principal characters. Nathdwara, a place of pilgrimage close to Udaipur , furnishes paintings of Krishna in a characteristic style.

Indian art is also an art of social, political, religious and artistic influences. It began its long history in the Indus Valley six thousand years before the birth of Christ. In the centuries that followed, there evolved a civilization which was full of remarkable innovations. Cotton was discovered, brick was fired, town planning and an ordered civic fife in all its varied aspects was developed. There were, for instance, standardized weights and measures, public baths, a central government and its attendant institutions. The Indus Valley civilization, then, was an advanced one for its time. Its people also produced the first Indian artists. They modeled clay, carved stone, cast metal and fashioned jewelry. By 2000 BC, they had developed a high degree of skill in these crafts. The pottery they ate from was highly accomplished both in its conception and in its fine degree of decoration. Their jewelry could grace any Fifth Avenue store today.

It is, however, in the masterly carved miniature sculptures unearthed at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, the two main centers of the Indus Valley civilization, that the early Indian artist's ability is shown at its best. The mastery of his skill and his feeling for his subject matter are exemplified in the small bronze figure of a dancing girl found at Mohenjo Daro. Numerous other small sculptures have been unearthed at these sites which give compelling proof of the range of the first Indian artists' artistry.