Rock temples of India in modern architecture. Rock temples of India Rock temples, Ellora, Maharashtra, India

Does modern man today know what architecture is in its essence? Do architects comprehend the symbolic aspect that was holistically reproduced by the Masters of the ancient millennium? These questions remain and will remain the eternal driving element in any architectural scheme.

To see the fundamental essence of modern buildings, you need to build a bridge to a distant time, when the skill of architects was secret knowledge, and creation was the prototype of the universe. One example of this form of interaction is the rock temples of India, built in the 2nd century BC. and in the 3rd century AD.

Ajanta Temple

The temples were carved along a trajectory from top to bottom and did not have any foundation. The craftsmen worked with complex materials - basalt and stone. The sculptures were carved into rocks. But the most amazing thing is that the architects already worked with knowledge of the law of light refraction, which was formulated only in the 17th century. The technology of carving temples and sculptures has not reached us. This is understandable - at that time there was a certain closed class of artist-architects, let's call them co-creators, whose skill passed from mouth to mouth and was then lost. But we touched on something more significant than technology - on symbolism, which became the foremother of almost all modern structures.

Rocky̆ Kaya Templĕ lasanatha

If in the archaic co-creators the goal of architecture was to create a spiritual and material environment for human habitation, then in modern architecture the process of systemic relations between nature and man is just beginning. Any architecture is an art, the act of which is imprinted in the ancient unconscious. This is the act of human interaction with the world, both material and mental. In the minds of the architect of our time, this connection has been preserved. We can see this in modern projects and houses built in rocks and mountains.

Man, being today in a remote state from his radical, is increasingly creating a space for himself where he could let God into himself. The rock is an intermediate world between the firmament and the earth. The space that is enclosed between these two worlds is space for simultaneously “standing on your feet” and “opening your consciousness.”

The architect who came closest to the system of inseparability of nature and architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, said: “Tired of repetitions of faceless banalities in which light reflects from bare planes or sadly falls into holes cut out in them, organic architecture again brings man face to face to the appropriate nature of the play of chiaroscuro, which gives freedom to a person’s creative thought and his inherent sense of artistic imagination.” His project "Chapel in the Rock" is one example of how the spatial essence, located in the unconscious of the archaic culture of ancient India, was revived in the modern consciousness of architecture. A person located in this space acquires a certain form of primitiveness, self-awareness of participation in the mystery. All ancient architecture was built precisely on this principle, and there were no differences between a house and a temple. Houses and temples were united by one view - touching the sacrament.

Chapel in the Rock, Arizona

The most famous project - “House over the Waterfall” - was a temple in the sense that it was built on the principle of the unity of man and the universe. One of Wright's principles was to build with straight lines and rectangular shapes. If we look at a fragment of the external parts of the Ellora temples, we will see an identical principle.

Houseabovewaterfall

Ellora, fragment of one of the temples

Wright was clearly aware of the mission of each of his projects. All of them fulfilled the concept of continuity of architectural space, i.e. stemmed from the natural conditions of the environment. The architects of Indian rock temples based their construction ideas solely on natural resources. It’s amazing how the consciousness of one world responded to the consciousness of a completely different, modern world.

"Architectural life, or at least life itself, takes form and is therefore the true story of life: it was alive yesterday, as it is alive today or ever will be."

The consciousness of the architectural world of Ancient India was reflected in entire cities scattered throughout our planet: the tiny village of Rocamadour in southwestern France, Cape Verde in southwestern Colorado, the city of Petra in the northwestern Arabian desert, the city of Derinku in Turkish Cappadocia, the city of Vardzia in Georgia, on rock temple complexes near the Bamiyan River in central Afghanistan (which, alas, were almost completely destroyed by explosions in 2000, which destroyed huge Buddha statues carved in the 6th century AD).

VillageRocamadour, France

MesaVerde, Colorado

CityPetra, Jordan

CityDerinku, Cappadocia

CityVardzia, Georgia

Afghanistan, rocky̆ city ​​near the Bamiyan River

If we trace the history of each city listed above, we will see one unifying principle - holiness. All these cities were built either by monks or by saints and hermits who wanted to find a place for prayer and meditation. This suggests that the art of antiquity gave us something without which civilizations would never have been able to maintain their vitality - the soul of architecture. Will we ever get closer to that secret knowledge, will we solve the problem of preserving the ancient traditions of architecture - an open question for the modern architectural, and not only, world.

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

Temples and monasteries are holy places where people can connect with the divine, with incredible power, with the Universe. In addition to the most powerful energy, they conceal a special beauty, and, of course, architectural art plays a huge role in this.

The skill reached a special peak when structures were built right in caves, stone by stone was hewn, acquiring clear contours, strewn with small details. A clear proof of this is the Buddhist cave temples. , which we will talk about today.

The article below will tell you about the most interesting and popular cave temples that were built at different times in different countries. Together we will find out how and by whom they were erected, what they looked like then and what they look like now, what you should pay attention to if life takes you to these lands.

Well, let's begin our journey.

Ajanta

Cave temples can be found here and there throughout Asia, especially where Buddhist thought is venerated. Their sizes vary from tiny stupas to real giants, which consist of a whole complex of caves with amazing frescoes, wall sculptures, and wide passages.

Entire walls and individual statues were carved out of cave rocks - and this required enormous efforts of several generations of eastern artisans. Today it is difficult to imagine how, many centuries ago, such masterpieces of architecture could have been erected without modern tools and technologies. One of them can rightfully be called the Indian temple complex of Ajanta.

This is one of the most famous in all of India. It is located in the state of Maharashtra, a hundred kilometers from the city of Aurangabad, on the banks of the Waghur River.

Ajanta Temple Complex, India

Ajanta has a very interesting history. They began to build it, or rather, to cut it down, at the beginning of the 3rd century AD, when the Gupta Empire flourished - the last ancient Indian dynasty, which also united the north and center of the state.

Indefatigable work lasted for several centuries: the soil was separated from the basalt, one after another, statues of deities, Buddhas and bodhisattvas appeared on the walls and in the interior decoration.

It was a picturesque cliff, shaped like a horseshoe, strewn with three dozen large cave-temples. Some of them were places of prayers and rituals, others were the housing of monks, and others were utility rooms.

If you recreate a picture of that time, the view and scale can take your breath away. Each cave had its own access to a wide river, which provided water for drinking and cooking. The technology and water supply system were up to date: rainwater was accumulated here during the monsoons, which allowed the monastery to exist peacefully during periods of drought.

Everything changed at the end of the 6th century, when the Harishen family ceased to exist. It was the source of financing for the construction. Half a century later, by the middle of the 7th century, construction was completely stopped.

The monks were forced to leave their homes, and nature took its toll: the entrances were walled up with plants, the thickets hid the man-made beauty. Inside the caves themselves, such a microclimate was formed, thanks to which it was possible to leave the statues and frescoes in their original form.

So all the splendor turned out to be almost untouched by time, and therefore today in Ajanta we can move back several centuries.

Inside the Ajanta Temple complex

In 1819, English army officer John Smith was hunting in these places and accidentally saw an arch - it was the entrance to the tenth cave. Later, 29 more caves were discovered. They were cleared, put in order, and for convenience they were named simply - each was given a serial number.

In 1838, UNESCO included the Ajanta cave temples in its list of tangible heritage. Now you can visit almost all of them, see with your own eyes the former power of ancient Indian civilization and get in touch with Buddhist culture. Frescoes and statues of amazing beauty have been preserved here.

The main asset is the sculptural statues that tell the story of the life and work of the bodhisattvas Jataka and Padmapani. The outside walls are decorated with elaborate carvings, some of the techniques of which still remain a mystery. It is incomprehensible how such a level of skill could have been achieved almost a thousand years ago.

Dambulla

An even more ancient temple is Dambulla, built in the first century BC. It is also known as the Golden Temple. All thanks to the fact that it is here that there is a huge collection of statues of the great Teacher Shakyamuni, and more than seventy of them are covered with real gold plating.

Dambulla is located on the island of Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, one hundred and fifty kilometers from the capital Colombo, near the town of Matale. This is the largest cave temple complex in the vastness of southern Asia.

Dambulla Temple, Sri Lanka

Dambulla was also built over many centuries, and many generations of the reigning dynasty took part in its construction. Five main caves and the ruins of twenty-five monastic houses are located at an altitude of almost half a kilometer - at the highest point of the hill.

It is difficult to describe the local nature in words to convey all its beauty: from below stretches a mountain, almost completely covered with forest, dense vegetation, the fresh air takes your breath away, and everything around breathes with ancient civilization.

The walls of the surviving buildings are covered with paintings with Buddhist motifs. There are also more than 150 statues of Shakyamuni, three statues of the rulers of the island, and sculptures modeled in the likeness of Buddhist deities. The total area of ​​the paintings reaches two thousand square meters.

Buddha statues at Dambulla Temple

All cave-temples are different from each other, containing a “zest”:

• Devarajalena - here lies a Buddha 15 meters long, at whose feet Ananda sits. 4 statues of Buddha are adjacent to the Hindu god Vishnu, whose chapel is located nearby.
• Maharajalena is the largest cave of the entire complex. The main one is surrounded by numerous sculptures, eleven of which are incarnations of Buddha.
• Maha-alut-vihara - the ten-meter-long Buddha sleeps here. In addition, there were thirteen Buddhas sitting in padamasana and forty-two standing on their feet.
• Paccima Vihara is a small temple with a stupa in the middle.
• Devana-alut-vihara - here used to be a warehouse, and now there are eleven Buddhas, one Vishnu, one Kataragama and the deity Devata Bandara.

Dambulla is a Buddhist gem of the island's past and a must-visit if you find yourself near the Sri Lankan capital.

Longmen

The three main Chinese temple complexes include Longmen, also known as Longmen or Pinyin. This name translates to "Caves of Stone at the Dragon's Gate."

Lunmen Monastery, China

The complex is located in China , in Henan province, ten kilometers south of the town of Luoyang. At the end of the 5th century, the Yihe River flowed here, and it was surrounded on both sides by the limestone mountains Xianshan and Longmenshan. The latter gave the name to the temple, which began to be built in 495 AD, when the Northern Wei family ruled.

The temple was actively erected when the Tang dynasty was in power - from the 7th to the 9th centuries. At this time, more than half of the total number of all statues was built. The completion of global construction dates back to the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries.

Today the temple is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. But even now it is difficult to say exactly how many unique sculptures, frescoes, and paintings are hidden here. Several hundred caves, more than 2,300 grottoes, 43 temples, almost three thousand inscriptions and one hundred thousand paintings with Buddhist motifs - the numbers are truly amazing.

The main caves include:

• Binyan;
• Guiang;
• Fengxian.

Here are the works of outstanding masters, which are embodied in bas-reliefs and sculptures of Buddhas, monks, and dakinis. Among them one can highlight a fifteen-meter statue of Buddha Vairocana. I would like to characterize the entire architecture as a combination of clear small details and soft outlines of facades.

15-meter statue of Buddha Vairocana in Longmen Cave Temple, China

Conclusion

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Every country has palaces, town halls, cathedrals that amaze the imagination with the beauty and elegance of their forms. They are built in different architectural styles. By style one can determine the century of construction, the level of civilization, the customs of the people inhabiting this country, its culture, and national traditions. The rich architecture of India reflects the diversity of historical and cultural traditions of the thousands of years of history of the ancient state.

Development of architecture in India

Indian civilization began in ancient times. Over the course of several thousand years, Indian culture has gone through various periods. Since ancient times, the peoples of this unique country have expressed their ideas about the Universe in art. In Indian art, architecture always coexists with sculpture. The walls of the temples are covered with skillfully made stone sculptures and bas-reliefs. In every architectural work, religious symbolism occupies the first place.
Depending on the religion dominant in the country, the architecture of ancient India experienced three periods:
ancient Brahmanical, which lasted until about 250 BC. e., and left almost no architectural monuments;
Buddhist, which lasted for the next 1 thousand years and ended around 750 AD. e.;
neo-Brahmanical, which lasted until the conquest of India by Muslims (beginning of the 13th century).
In ancient times, most buildings were built of wood, so they have not survived to this day. At the beginning of our era, stone began to be used in construction, which influenced Indian religious architecture. Cave complexes, temples, and stupas began to appear - structures made of stone in which sacred relics were kept.

Ancient Buddhist temples

The most impressive cave complexes that have survived to this day are the Ajanta and Karli temples. Monks' cells were often located around Buddhist temples. There are at least a thousand temple caves in India.

Chaityas in Karli are Indian religious buildings carved into the rocks. The first chaityas appeared in the 3rd century BC. e. during the reign of Ashoka Maurya. They were a temple for prayer, carved into a rock mass in the form of an oblong hall. Inside this hall there were two rows of stone columns, at the very end there was a stupa or statue of Buddha. Later, starting from the 5th century AD. BC, chaityas began to be built in the form of separate buildings, but only some cave structures have survived to this day.
The complex of ancient Indian rock caves Chaitya in Karli was built in the period from the 2nd century. BC e. until the 5th century n. e. Karla is built on a rocky hillside. A large horseshoe-shaped window has been carved into the rock to illuminate the interior of the cave. The interior decoration of the Chaitya in Karli is a bit like a basilica. The main cave is a huge hall 45 m long and 14 m high, with columns decorated with carved sculptures of women, men, lions, elephants, and a stupa at the far end of the hall. The prayer hall has a vaulted ceiling and the entrance is made in the form of an arch.
By the 5th century n. e. refers to the temple with the stupa in Sanchi. The Hindu stupa is a very interesting architectural structure. Since the time when Hindus began to worship Buddha, there has been a need for repositories for relics. At first, simple hill-shaped tombstones were built, around which fences were built. Gates were installed in the fence on four sides, oriented to the cardinal directions. Memorial stupas were erected in honor of revered Buddhist saints.

Gradually, the stupa acquired the appearance of a monumental brick or stone monument. It was made in the shape of a hemisphere, as a symbol of the Buddha’s bowl turned upside down, serving the saint for collecting alms. On top of the stupa was crowned a small pavilion. Precious relics were placed in a special cavity, accessible only from above. Gradually, the simple design becomes more complex, and sculptural and architectural decorations appear.
The stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest such structures. It dates back to the 3rd century BC. e. Its height is 23.6 m, diameter at the base is 36.6 m. The iconic architectural monument is made of brick, lined with red sandstone on top. It is placed on the platform, to which steps lead. The stone fence and carved gates are also of interest. The above-ground part of the stupa in Sanchi was built in the 7th century, and the base on which it stands is a thousand years older than it.

New Brahmin period

Around the end of the 6th century, Brahmanical ideas began to gain influence again, mixing with Buddhist beliefs. During this period, small cave temples gradually turned into huge above-ground tower-like structures. A new type of temple has become widespread - a pagoda, which can look like a two-story or multi-story building. Architects attached religious and symbolic meaning to Indian temples.

The architects in their work relied on mystical theories invented by priests. Thus, the prototype of the cult building was the mythical structure on Mount Kailash in the other world. It was believed that the supreme deity reveals the architectural form only to selected mortals - architects, priests. Hindus believed that an architect visits heaven in a dream, is inspired by beautiful temples that serve as prototypes for him, and divine forces use him as a tool to carry out their plans.
Transitional forms from cave to tower architecture include Kailash in Ellur. The religious structure, hewn out of a massive rock, has not only an internal space, but also an external volume. Compositionally, the temple at Ellur consists of horizontally decreasing platforms with many individual elements and sculptural images.
Architects of the neo-Brahman period rarely used brick for the construction of tower-shaped temples, preferring stone. The main structure of the temple of this period is a high tower and several lower ones closely adjacent to it. The interior of the temple is small, cave-like, inherited from the Buddhist chaitya, but the exterior is striking in its colossal size.
From the outside, the temple looks like a large, artificially sculpted hill, with almost no windows. At the same time, against the background of the blurring mass of the heavy temple, towers stretch upward, expressing the power of growth in architectural forms.
The towers, consisting of rounded stucco masses, have almost no clear straight lines. It seems that the tower itself and each of its components are rounded from the inside, developing outward, and the building as a whole is associated with a plant that has an internal growth point. Towers grow like strange flowers.
The outer mass of the structure forms an architectural composition in which two groups are represented. The first group includes elements that only complement the composition and are incomprehensible when separated from it. Other types of elements not only complement, but also themselves represent compositional unity.
The architecture of the neo-Brahmanical period is characterized by numerous repetitions of forms and parts, but on different scales, for example, towers and turrets or horizontal folds. Thanks to this repetition of architectural forms, large and small, a visual effect of unity of matter is created.
Indian temples of the neo-Brahman period are located in the following localities:
Kailash (Ellur);
Sirpur;
Ganesha Ratha (Mamallapuram);
Aihole;
Potgatsakal;
Kanchipuram;
Siddeshvara (Banikur);
Bhubaneswar;
Khajuraho;
Rayarani (Bhubaneswar);
Bodhgaya;
Konarak;
Tanjore;
Halebid;
Madur;
Gujarat.
One of the magnificent examples of neo-Brahmin architecture is the temple in Khajuraho, which is a single composition of several towers, rising on a geometric stone pedestal. The secondary towers gradually increase in height towards the main tower. This plant-like central tower consists of three main elements united by a common shape. It seems that the petals make up a flower.

Muslim architecture

During the period of the spread of the Islamic religion in India, architectural structures of the Muslim direction, with the presence of portals, domes, and high minarets, began to be built in different parts of the country, especially in the northern part. Muslim architecture flourished in India in the 16th–17th centuries, the time of the creation of the Mughal state on the territory of the country. During this period, fortresses, mausoleums, mosques and palaces began to be erected en masse.

The reign of Akbar left a special mark on history. Many architectural ensembles were built then, including Akbar's palace, the fortress in Agra, and Lal Qila in Delhi. At that time in India, buildings were built from red sandstone, less often dark yellow. Instead of sculpture, which is prohibited in Islam, ornaments and stone carvings were used in the decoration.
In the 17th century, when Shah Jahan ruled India, marble and inlay with expensive stones began to be used in architectural structures. The famous palace of fabulous beauty, the Taj Mahal, was built by this ruler as a mausoleum for his wife.

The architecture of ancient India, especially the neo-Brahman period, became widespread in neighboring countries - Cambodia, Siam, the islands of Java and Ceylon. However, places of worship in these countries are very different from Indian ones. They show the influence of Indian architecture, but in a much less pronounced form. They do not show stages of development, as in Indian architecture, but are only variations on a certain theme.

Over many centuries, many bright and original movements, schools and directions have arisen, developed, changed or disappeared in Indian art. Indian art, like the art of other peoples, knew not only the ways of internal continuity, but also external influences, and even the invasion of other, foreign artistic cultures, but at all these stages it remains creatively strong and original. Despite the well-known conditionality of religious canons, Indian art contains great universal, humanistic content.

It is impossible to cover in any detail the history of Indian art in a condensed essay. Therefore, here only a general brief overview will be given of the most striking and characteristic monuments and the most important lines of development of art and architecture in India from ancient times to the present day.

The origins of the fine arts and architecture of India go back to the most ancient periods of its history.

In the central regions of the country, paintings dating back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras depicting hunting scenes and animals have been discovered. The most ancient cultures of Sindh and Balochistan are characterized by small clay sculptures, which are dominated by crudely sculpted and painted female figurines, usually associated with the cult of the mother goddess, and painted ceramics with ornamentation in black or red paint. The ornament includes images of bulls, lions, mountain goats and other animals, as well as trees in combination with geometric motifs.

The first flowering of Indian urban culture is represented by the architectural monuments of Harappa (Punjab) and Mohenjo-Daro (Sindh). These monuments testify to the very high development of urban planning, architectural and technical thought of the most ancient Indian builders and their great professional skill for that time. During excavations here, the ruins of large urban-type settlements with a very developed layout were discovered. In the western part of these cities there were heavily fortified citadels with various public buildings. The walls of the citadels were reinforced with protruding rectangular towers. A feature of the appearance of these cities was the almost complete absence of architectural decorations.

The few works of sculpture found in Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and some other centers of the Indus Valley civilization testify to the further improvement of pictorial techniques and plastic interpretation of the image. The soapstone bust of a priest (or king) and the bronze figurine of a dancer from Mohenjo-Daro present two completely different individualized images, interpreted in a generalized way, but very expressively and vitally. Two torsos from Harappa (red and gray limestone) testify to the sculptors' great understanding of the plasticity of the human body.

Carved soapstone seals with images of animals, deities or ritual scenes are distinguished by their high perfection of execution. The pictographic inscriptions on these seals have not yet been deciphered.

The architecture and fine arts of the subsequent, so-called Vedic period are known to us only from written sources. The authentic monuments of this time are almost never discovered. During this era, construction from wood and clay developed widely, and constructive and technical techniques were developed, which later formed the basis of stone architecture.

From the beginning of the heyday of the state of Magadha (mid-VI-IV centuries BC), the remains of Cyclopean defensive walls and large platforms that served as the foundations of buildings have been preserved. Early Buddhist texts mention statues of gods.

One can more fully judge the art of the Maurya Empire (late 4th - early 2nd centuries BC). The royal palace in its capital Pataliputra was compared by ancient sources with the Achaemenid palaces in Susa and Ecbatana.

Excavations revealed the remains of this palace - a vast rectangular hall, the ceiling of which rested on a hundred stone columns.

A rapid flowering of architecture and sculpture occurred during the reign of Ashoka. Under him, the construction of Buddhist religious buildings acquired a special scope.

Characteristic monuments of Ashoka's time were numerous stone monolithic columns - stambhas, on which royal edicts and Buddhist religious texts were carved; their tops had a lotus-shaped capital and were crowned with sculptural images of Buddhist symbols. Thus, on one of the most famous pillars from Sarnath (about 240 BC), relief figures of a horse, a bull, a lion and an elephant are depicted with amazing skill and expressiveness, and the top of this pillar is crowned with a sculpture of four half-fituras connected by their backs Lviv city

The most typical monument of Buddhist architecture of this time are stupas - memorial structures designed to store Buddhist relics (tradition attributes the construction of 84 thousand stupas to Ashoka). In its simplest form, a stupa is a monolithic hemisphere placed on a cylindrical base, topped with a stone image of an umbrella - a chattra (a symbol of the noble origin of the Buddha) or a spire, under which sacred objects were preserved in a small chamber in special reliquaries. A circular walk was often made around the stupa and the entire structure was surrounded by a fence.

A classic example of buildings of this type is the Great Stupa at Sanchi (3rd century BC), having 32.3 m in diameter at the base and 16.5 m in height without the spire. The building is made of brick and faced with stone. Later, in the 1st century. BC e., a high stone fence with four gates - a torana - was erected around it. The bars of the fence and gate are decorated with reliefs and sculptures based on scenes from Buddhist legends, images of mythological characters, people and animals.

From the end of the 2nd century. and especially in the 1st century. BC e. Rock architecture is widely developed. The construction of cave complexes in Kanheri, Karli, Bhaja, Baga, Ajanta, Ellora and other places dates back to this time. Initially, these were small monastic monasteries, which gradually expanded and over the centuries turned into cave cities. In rock architecture, the most important types of Buddhist cult buildings are chaitya and vihara (prayer halls and monasteries).

The Greek campaigns in India (IV century BC), the formation of the Indo-Greek states, and later, at the turn of our era, the invasion of the Saka tribes and the creation of the powerful Kushan state had a strong impact on Indian art. As a result of the strengthening of political, trade and cultural ties between India and the countries of the Mediterranean, Central Asia and Iran at this time, new artistic trends penetrated into India. Having come into contact with the art of the Hellenized countries of the Near East, Indian artistic culture assimilated some of the achievements of classical art, creatively processing and rethinking them, while maintaining its originality and originality.

The complex process of creative processing of various external artistic influences in Indian art of this period is especially clearly expressed in the works of the three most important and significant art schools of the 1st-3rd centuries. n. e. - Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati.

The art school of Gandhara - an ancient region of northwestern India in the middle reaches of the Indus, in the area of ​​​​modern Peshawar (now in Pakistan) - apparently arose at the turn of our era, reaching its peak in the 2nd-3rd centuries. and existed in its later branches until the VI-VIII centuries. The geographical position on the most important land route connecting India with other countries predetermined the role of this highly developed region as a conductor and at the same time a filter of various artistic influences coming to India from the Mediterranean, the Near East, Central Asia and China. The influence of the spiritual and artistic culture of India on these countries also penetrated through Gandhara. It was here that deeply contradictory, to some extent eclectic art arose and took shape, which received the name “Greco-Buddhist”, “Indo-Greek” or simply “Gandhara” in literature. In terms of its content, this is Buddhist religious art, telling in plastic images the life of Gautama Buddha and many bodysattvas. Its Indian origins were manifested in a composition that followed the traditions and canons developed in Buddhist art of previous periods. In the artistic manner, in the sculpting of three-dimensional forms, the interpretation of faces, poses* of clothing, the influence of classical examples of Hellenistic sculpture was felt. Gradually, the classical stream is transformed, approaching purely Indian forms, but until the end of the existence of this school it is clearly visible in its works.

The Mathura school of sculpture occupies a very important place in the history of Indian art. Its rise in Kushan times was marked by a number of artistic achievements that formed the basis for the further development of Indian art. The iconographic canon of the image of Buddha in the form of a man, created in Mathura, later spread widely throughout Buddhist religious art.

The sculpture of Mathura during its heyday (II-III centuries) is distinguished by its full-blooded depiction of the forms of the human body.

The sculpture of the Amaravati school - the third of the most important art schools of this period - reveals an even more subtle sense of plastic form. This school is represented by numerous reliefs that decorated the stupa at Amaravati. Its heyday dates back to the 2nd-3rd centuries. The human figures here are emphatically slender in their proportions, and the genre compositions are even more lifelike.

The period of existence of the powerful Gupta state (IV-VI centuries) is associated with a new artistic era, which represents the centuries-long development of ancient Indian art. The art of the Gupta era concentrated the artistic achievements of previous periods and local art schools. The “Golden Age of Indian Art,” as the Gupta era is often called, produced works that are included in the treasury of world art.

Reliefs of the gate (torana) of the Great Stupa in Sanchi

Wide and varied construction is represented by numerous buildings of temples, both rock and ground. Essentially new in Gupta architecture was the construction of the simplest type of early Brahman temple: it consisted of a cella standing on an elevated platform, square in plan, covered with flat stone slabs, the entrance to which was designed in the form of a columned vestibule, also with a flat ceiling. An example of such a building is the slender and elegant temple No. 7 in Sanchi. Later, a covered bypass corridor or gallery appears around the cella building; in the 5th century a stepped tower-like superstructure appears over the cella - a prototype of the future monumental giikhara of medieval Brahman temples.

Cave architecture was experiencing a new rise at this time. A more complex type of rock structure is developing - a vihara, a Buddhist monastery. In plan, the vihara was a vast rectangular pillared hall with a sanctuary where there was an image of Buddha or a stupa. Along the sides of the hall were located numerous cells of monks. The external entrance to such a monastery took the form of a columned portico, richly decorated with sculpture and painting.

One of the highest achievements of art of the Gupta era was the wall paintings of cave monasteries. Their creation was preceded by a long development of this genre, starting from the time of the Mauryas, but almost no genuine monuments of early painting have reached us. Among the monuments of wall painting, the best-preserved Ajanta paintings are the most famous, among which the painting of cave No. 17 stands out for its skillful execution.

Ajanta artists filled their compositions on traditional subjects of Buddhist legends with an abundance of genre and everyday details, creating a gallery of scenes and images that reflected many aspects of everyday life of that time. The execution of Ajanta frescoes is distinguished by high skill, freedom and confidence of design and composition, and a subtle sense of color. Despite the limitations of visual means by a number of canonized techniques, the artists’ ignorance of chiaroscuro and correct perspective, Ajanta’s frescoes are striking in their vitality.

The sculpture of this period is distinguished by its subtle and elegant modeling, smoothness of forms, calm balance of proportions, gestures and movements. The features of expressiveness and brute force characteristic of the monuments of Bharhut, Mathura and Amaravati give way to refined harmony in Gupta art. These features are especially clear in the numerous statues of Buddha, immersed in a state of tranquil contemplation. In Gupta times, images of Buddha finally acquired a strictly canonized, frozen appearance. In other sculptures, less bound by iconographic canons, the living feeling and richness of plastic language are more fully preserved.

At the end of the Gupta period, in the 5th-6th centuries, sculptural compositions were created based on subjects from Brahman mythology. In these sculptures, features of great expressiveness and dynamism begin to appear again. This was due to the beginning of the process of the so-called Brahman reaction and the gradual, increasingly decisive pushing aside of Buddhism by Brahman cults (or, rather, by the cults of Hinduism).

At the beginning of the 6th century. the Gupta Empire fell under the blows of the Hephthalites, or White Huns, invading from Central Asia; Many art centers in India are being destroyed and life in them is dying out.

A new stage in the history of Indian art dates back to the early Middle Ages and in its content is associated almost exclusively with Hinduism.

In the early medieval architecture of India, two large trends stood out, distinguished by the originality of their canons and forms. One of them developed in the north of India and in the literature is usually called the northern or Indo-Aryan school. The second developed in the territories south of the river. Narbada and is known under the name of the southern or Dravidian school. These two main directions - North Indian and South Indian - in turn split into a number of local art schools.

Whereas South Indian<жая, или дравидийская, архитектурная школа была связана в этот период лишь с областями восточного побережья Индостанского полуострова, южнее р. Кистны (Кришны), северная-индоарийская школа складывалась и развивалась на большей части территории северной Индии, распространившись даже на некоторые области Декана VII-VIII вв. в истории индийского искусства являются переходной эпохой.

At this time, artistic traditions, and in particular the traditions of scalp architecture, experienced the final stage of their development and ceased. At the same time, there is a process of formation of new artistic canons, forms and techniques related to the needs of the developing feudal society and its ideology.

The role of ground-based construction is sharply increasing. The appearance of such architectural works as monolithic rathas - small temples in Mahabalipuram and the famous Kailasanatha temple in Ellora, speaks of fundamental changes in the architecture of India: these are above-ground buildings, only made in the traditional technique of rock architecture.

Buddhist rock architecture at Ajanta culminates in the 7th century. several viharas. The most famous is Vihara No. 1, famous for its wall paintings.

Of the world-famous wall paintings of this cave, only a small part has reached us, and then in a severely destroyed state. The surviving fragments depict episodes from the life of the Buddha, as well as numerous genre scenes that are distinguished by great vitality.

The paintings of Vihara No. 1, like other Ajanta cave temples, are made using the fresco technique on white alabaster ground. The visual techniques and means used by the painters who created these paintings bear the stamp of traditionalism and a certain canonicity; Despite the rather strict limitations of visual means, Ajanta artists were able to embody in their works a whole world of great human feelings, actions and experiences, creating pictorial masterpieces of truly global significance.

The motifs of the Ajanta painting are widely used to this day in the artistic work of the peoples of India.

However, traditional cave monasteries, adapted for the needs of a small monastic brethren, did not satisfy the needs of the Brahman cult with its complex symbolism and crowded ceremonies. The technical difficulties associated with processing hard rocky soil forced the search for new architectural solutions and construction techniques. These searches led to the construction

Ellora, one of the famous cave temple complexes in India, is located southwest of Ajanta. Construction began here back in the 5th century, when the first Buddhist caves were cut down. The entire complex of temples at Ellora consists of three groups: Buddhist, Brahmin and Jain.

Created in the second half of the 8th century. The Kailasanatha temple represents a decisive rejection of the basic principles of cave architecture. This building is a ground structure, made using traditional techniques typical of rock architecture. Instead of an underground hall going deep into the rock, the builders carved out a structural above-ground temple from the rock monolith, the type of which had already developed in its basic outlines by this time. Having separated the required mass from the mountain with trenches, the architects cut down the temple starting from the upper floors, gradually deepening to the base. All the rich sculptural decoration was carried out simultaneously with the liberation of parts of the building from the rock mass. This method required not only a detailed development of the building design in all its parts and their relationships, but also an extremely accurate embodiment of the architect’s plans in the material.

Sculpture plays a dominant role in the decoration of the buildings of the temple complex. Painting is used only in interior decoration. The surviving fragments indicate an increase in the features of schematism and convention. The traditions of monumental painting, closely associated with Buddhism, are dying out. In Hindu architecture, sculpture receives especially magnificent development.

The third important monument in the history of Indian medieval architecture is the temple ensemble in Mahabalipuram, located on the east coast south of Madras. Its creation dates back to the middle of the 7th century. The temple complex was carved out of natural outcrops of coastal granite. It consists of ten columned halls carved into rocks, two of which remained unfinished, and seven above-ground temples - rathas, carved from granite monoliths. All rathas remained unfinished. The most significant of them is the Dhar-maraja-ratha temple.

The temple ensemble of Mahabalipuram includes a wonderful sculpture monument - the relief “The Descent of the Ganges to Earth”. It is carved on a steep slope of granite rock and faces east - towards the rising sun. The plot center of the composition is a deep vertical crevice along which in ancient times water fell, supplied from a special pool.

The gods, people and animals depicted on the relief strive to this waterfall, which clearly personified the legend of the descent of the heavenly river to earth, and, having reached it, freeze in amazed contemplation of the miracle.

Despite the external static nature of the sculptures of gods, people and animals, with great generality, even some schematicism in the interpretation of their figures, the huge relief is filled with life and movement.

The next stage in the development of medieval architecture in India was the final transition to construction through masonry - stone or brick.

The development of architecture in the northern regions of India followed somewhat different paths. A unique type of temple building developed here, significantly different from the southern type described above.

Several local architectural trends arose within the northern school, which created a number of original solutions for the external and internal forms of the temple building.

The architecture of northern India is characterized by the arrangement of all parts of the temple building along the main axis, usually running strictly from east to west; The entrance to the temple was located from the east. Compared to the south, the temples of northern India have a more developed and complex layout: in addition to the usual buildings of the sanctuary and the main hall, two more pavilions are often attached to the latter - the so-called dance hall and the hall of offerings. In the external composition of a temple building, its division into parts is usually sharply emphasized. The dominant element of the external appearance of the temple building becomes the superstructure above the sanctuary building - the shikhara with its dynamic curvilinear contour; in northern architecture, it first took the form of a taller tower than in the south, square or close to square in plan, the side edges of which rapidly rise up along a steeply outlined parabola. The upward-pointing shikhara is contrasted with the remaining parts of the temple building; all of them are significantly lower, their covering usually has the form of a gently sloping stepped pyramid.

Kailasanatha rock temple. VIII century n. e.

Perhaps the most vivid, complete embodiment of the canons of northern architecture was found in the works of the architectural school of Orissa. This school developed in the 9th century. and existed until the end of the 13th century. The most outstanding monuments of architecture of the Orissa school are considered to be the vast temple complex in Bhubaneshwar, the Jaganatha Temple in Puri and the Sun Temple in Konarak.

The ensemble of Shaivite temples in Bhuvaneshwar consists of a very large number of buildings: the earliest of them were built in the middle of the 8th century, the latest - at the end of the 13th century. The most significant of them. is the Lingaraja Temple (circa 1000), distinguished by its monumental forms.

The temple building is located in the middle of a rectangular area surrounded by a high wall. It consists of four parts, located along the main axis from east to west: the offering hall, the dance hall, the main hall and the sanctuary. The external architectural divisions of the temple building emphasize the independence of each part.

The Sun Temple in Konark is considered one of the highest achievements of the architectural school of Orissa in terms of the boldness of its design and the monumentality of its forms. The construction of the temple was carried out in 1240-1280, but it was not completed. The entire complex was a giant solar chariot - ratha, drawn by seven horses. The temple buildings were placed on a high platform, on the sides of which twenty-four wheels and seven sculpted figures were depicted horses pulling a chariot.

Tower of the Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar. Orissa, VIII century.

Temples in Khajuraho (central India) were created in different architectural forms. The temple complex at Khajuraho was built between 950 and 1050. and consists of Hindu and Jain temples. The Brahman temples of Khajuraho represent a unique phenomenon in the history of Indian architecture: the layout and volumetric-spatial composition of the temple building here have a number of significant differences from the types of temple buildings described above.

The temples in Khajuraho are not surrounded by a high fence, but are raised high above the ground on a massive platform. The temple building was designed here as a single architectural whole, in which all parts are fused into a single spatial image. Despite the relatively small size of the buildings of this group, they are distinguished by the harmony of their proportions.

At the time in question, sculpture is closely connected with architecture and plays a huge role in the decoration of temple buildings. The free-standing round sculpture is represented only by single monumental monuments and small bronze sculptures. In terms of its content, Indian sculpture of the 7th-13th centuries. is exclusively Hindu and is dedicated to the figurative interpretation of religious legends and traditions. Significant changes are also taking place in the interpretation of plastic forms in comparison with the sculpture of previous periods. In medieval Indian sculpture, from the very beginning of its development, features of increased expressiveness and the desire to embody in a sculptural image the diverse fantastic aspects characteristic of Brahman deities appeared and became increasingly widespread. These features were not present in the sculpture of the Kushan and Gupta periods.

One of the favorite subjects of Indian sculpture of the time in question are the acts of Shiva and his wife Kali (or Parvati) in their numerous incarnations.

New artistic qualities are clearly manifested already in the monumental relief from the Mahishasura mandapa (early 7th century, Mahabalipuram), depicting the struggle of Kali with the demon Mahisha. The whole scene is filled with movement: Kali, sitting on a galloping lion, shoots an arrow at the bull-headed demon, who, having fallen on his left leg, tries to avoid the blow; near him are depicted his fleeing and fallen warriors, powerless to withstand the furious onslaught of the goddess.

An example of how a new understanding of the image begins to develop within the framework of an old artistic form is the relief from the island of Elephanta, depicting Shiva the destroyer. The eight-armed Shiva is depicted in motion, his facial expression is angry: sharply arched eyebrows, a furious gaze of wide open eyes, a sharp outline of a half-open mouth expressively characterize the emotional state of the god. And at the same time, the plastic techniques with which this relief was made are undoubtedly still closely connected with the traditions of classical sculpture of the Gupta era: the same softness of sculpting forms, somewhat generalized modeling of the face and figure, and balance of movement are preserved. The harmonious combination of all these largely contradictory features allowed the sculptor to create an image of great inner strength.

The artistic qualities of Indian medieval sculpture were most fully developed in the temples of the 10th-13th centuries. Particularly striking examples are provided by the temple complexes of Bhubaneswar and Khajuraho. The figures of dancers, musicians, and heavenly maidens who made up the retinue of the gods were depicted here. Over time, these ancient images of Indian art received a much more expressive interpretation, in which the genre-realistic element is very strong. South Indian bronze sculpture is characterized by artistic and stylistic features characteristic of Indian sculpture as a whole: a generalized interpretation of three-dimensional forms, the canonical triple bending of the human figure, a combination of dynamics movements with harmonious balance of composition, subtle rendering of details of clothing and jewelry. A typical example is the numerous figures of Shiva Nataraja (dancing Shiva), images of Parvati, Krishna and other deities, figurines of donor kings and queens of the Chola dynasty.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. South Indian bronzes largely lose their artistic qualities.

The main characteristic features and traditions of medieval Brahman art, examined on the example of the listed monuments, received independent and original development and artistic interpretation in numerous local art schools. These traditions and canons lived especially long in the extreme south of India, in Vijayanagar.

The formation of large Muslim states in northern India was accompanied by dramatic changes not only in political and socio-economic life, but also in the sphere of culture and art. With the emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, a new large direction in architecture and art began to develop and quickly strengthen, conventionally called “Indo-Muslim” in the literature. Interaction of medieval art schools of northern India

Iran and Central Asia can be traced back much earlier. But now the process of interpenetration and interweaving of the artistic traditions of these countries has become especially intense.

Of the earliest architectural monuments of the Delhi Sultanate, the ruins of the Quwwat ul-Islam mosque in Delhi (1193-1300) with its famous minaret Qutb Minar and the cathedral mosque in Ajmir (1210) have reached us.

The layout of these mosques harkens back to the traditional courtyard or columnar mosque layout. But the general composition of these buildings indicates a close, at first rather eclectic interweaving of the architectural traditions of India and Central Asia. This is clearly seen in the example of the mosque in Ajmir. Almost square in plan, the expansive courtyard of the mosque is surrounded on three sides by columned porticoes with four rows of columns, covered with numerous domes. The prayer hall of the mosque, formed by six rows of columns, opens into the courtyard with a monumental facade cut through by seven keeled arches, the middle of which dominates the rest. But only the skill of Indian architects in the art of stone masonry made it possible to create such a harmonious building in proportions.

Of the later monuments, the mausoleum of Ghiyas ud-din Tughlak (1320-1325) in the city of Tughlaqabad near Delhi should be noted. It belongs to the type of central-domed mausoleums widespread in the Middle East.

The late architecture of the Delhi Sultanate is characterized by massiveness, a certain heaviness in the general appearance of buildings, and the severity and simplicity of architectural details.

The same features are characteristic of the early architecture of the Bahmanid Sultanate in the Deccan. But from the beginning of the 15th century, with the transfer of the capital to Bidar, vigorous construction began here and a local unique style took shape. The tendency to disguise the mass of a building with decorative decoration, in which the main role is played, is becoming more and more clearly evident.

polychrome facings and ornamental carvings. The most significant monuments of Bahmanid architecture are the mausoleums of Ahmed Shah and Ala-uddin and the Mahmud Gavan madrasah in Bidar (mid-15th century).

Goddess Parvati. Bronze, 16th century

An outstanding monument of pre-Mughal architecture in northern India is the mausoleum of Sher Shah in Sasaram (mid-16th century, Bihar). The massive octahedron of the mausoleum building, covered with a huge hemispherical dome, rises on the shore of the lake on a powerful square plinth, at the corners and sides of which there are large and small domed pavilions. The general appearance of the building, for all its massiveness, creates the impression of volume and lightness.

The period from the XIII to the beginning of the XVI century. is of great importance in the history of Indian architecture. At this time, there is a complex process of rethinking and reworking architectural forms and techniques that came from Central Asia and Iran, in the spirit of local Indian artistic traditions. In the so-called Hindu-Muslim architecture, the leading principle continued to be the plastic, volumetric solution of the architectural image.

Busy construction in the Delhi Sultanate and other states of northern India largely created the preconditions for a new flowering of architecture and art in the 16th-18th centuries. under the Great Mughals.

In Mughal architecture, two periods are clearly distinguished: the earlier, associated with the activities of Akbar, and the later, relating primarily to the reign of Shah Jehan.

The scale of urban construction under Akbar was exceptionally large: new cities were built - Fatehpur Sikri (70s of the 16th century), Allahabad (80-90s) and others. As a result of extensive construction in the 60s, according to contemporaries, Agra became one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Of the large number of architectural monuments of this time, the most famous are the Humayun Mausoleum (1572) in Delhi and the cathedral mosque in Fatehpur Sikri.

Humayun's Mausoleum is the first building of this type in Mughal architecture. In the center of the park, laid out according to the rules of Central Asian park art, an octagonal mausoleum building, built of red sandstone and trimmed with white marble, rises on a wide base. The main white marble dome is surrounded by a number of open domed pavilions.

The architecture of Fatehpur Sikri buildings provides examples of the fusion of elements of Central Asian-Iranian and Indian architecture into a unique and independent architectural style.

The Grand Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri is a walled rectangle oriented along the cardinal points. The walls, blank on the outside, are surrounded on the north, east and south sides by columned porticos on the inside. The western wall is occupied by a mosque building. In the middle of the northern wall are the mausoleums of Sheikh Selim Chishti and Nawab Islam Khan, from the south is the main entrance - the so-called Buland Darwaza, which is a majestic building in which the features of the monumental style of architecture of the Akbar era were embodied. This building was built in 1602 to commemorate the conquest of Gujarat. The base is formed by 150 wide stone steps of a huge portal, which was crowned by an openwork gallery with miniature domes and several domed pavilions on the upper platform.

Column made of stainless metal. Delhi

In the later period, relating mainly to the reign of Shah Jehan, the construction of monumental buildings continued. This period includes such monuments as the Cathedral Mosque in Delhi (1644-1658), the Pearl Mosque (1648-1655) there, numerous palace buildings in Delhi and Agra and the famous Taj Mahal mausoleum. But in the general character of the architecture of this time, there is a departure from the monumental style of the times of Akbar and a tendency towards the reduction of architectural forms. The role of the decorative principle is noticeably enhanced. Intimate palace pavilions with exquisite, sophisticated decoration are becoming the predominant type of buildings.

The manifestation of these trends can be seen in the example of the Itimad uddoule mausoleum in Agra (1622-1628). In the center of the park there is a white marble mausoleum building. The architect built it in the spirit of palace pavilions, abandoning the monumental forms traditional for a tomb structure. The lightness and grace of the building's forms is emphasized by its exquisite decoration.

Ornament of the Qutub Minar (circa 1200, Delhi)

In the numerous buildings of Shah Jehan in Delhi, what is most striking is the richness and variety of ornamental motifs.

The crowning achievement of Mughal architecture is the Taj Mahal mausoleum (completed in 1648) on the banks of the Jumna in Agra, built by Shah Jehan in memory of his wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal. The building, together with the plinth and dome, is made of white marble and stands on a massive platform of red sandstone. Its forms are distinguished by exceptional proportionality, balance and softness of their outlines.

The ensemble of the mausoleum is complemented by the buildings of the mosque and pavilion for meetings, standing along the edges of the platform. In front of the ensemble there is a vast park, the central alleys of which run along a long narrow pool from the entrance portal directly to the mausoleum.

In the second half of the 17th century, with a change in the internal political course under Aurangzeb, the development of architecture in the Mughal state ceased.

In India in the 16th-17th centuries, along with the Mughal, there were a number of local architectural schools that created new solutions to traditional architectural themes...

At this time, in Bidar and Bijapur, which had maintained independence from the Mughals for a relatively long time, a unique type of central-domed mausoleum was spreading, typical examples of which are the Ali-Barid mausoleum (16th century) in Bidar and the mausoleum of Ibrahim II (early 17th century) in Bijapur.

By the XV-XVIII centuries. include numerous reconstructions of Jain temple ensembles on Mount Girnar, in Shatrunjaya (Gujarat), and on Mount Abu (Southern Rajasthan). Many of them were built back in the 10th-11th centuries, but later reconstructions greatly changed their appearance.

Jain temples were usually located in the center of a vast rectangular courtyard, surrounded by a wall, along the inner perimeter of which there was a row of cells. The temple building itself consisted of a sanctuary, an adjacent hall and a pillared hall. Jain temples are distinguished by their extraordinary richness and variety of sculptural and ornamental decoration.

Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal. Agra

The famous temples on Mount Abu are built entirely of white marble. The most famous is the Tejpala Temple (13th century), famous for its interior decoration and especially the sculptural decoration of the ceiling.

In the south of India, masters of late Brahman architecture in the 17th - 18th centuries. created a number of outstanding architectural complexes. It is in the southern regions, especially in Vijayanagar, that the artistic traditions of the South Indian or Dravidian school described above, which have been continuously developing here since the 8th-11th centuries, have been most fully preserved. In the spirit of these traditions, such extensive temple complexes were created as the Jambukeshvara temple near Tiruchirapalli, the Sundareshvara temple in Madurai, the temple in Tanjur, etc. These are entire cities: in the center is the main temple, the building of which is often lost among numerous auxiliary buildings and temples. Several concentric contours of the walls divide the vast territory occupied by such an ensemble into a number of sections. Usually these complexes are oriented according to the cardinal points, with the main axis to the west. High gate towers - gopurams - are erected above the outer walls, dominating the overall appearance of the ensemble. They have the appearance of a strongly elongated truncated pyramid, the planes of which are densely covered with sculptures, often painted, and ornamental carvings. Another characteristic element of late Brahman architecture are the vast ablution pools and the halls on their sides with many hundreds of columns reflected in the water.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. There was quite a lot of civil construction going on in India. Numerous castles and palaces of feudal princes and a number of significant buildings in many large cities of India date back to this time. But the architecture of this time was limited only to the repetition or search for new combinations and variants of architectural forms already developed earlier*, now interpreted more and more decoratively.

Temple tower in Madurai

Along with. traditionally Indian, various elements and forms of European architecture are increasingly used. These features of late Indian architecture determined its peculiar, bizarre appearance, characteristic of many Indian cities, especially their new quarters.

In the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. A significant number of official buildings are being built according to European models.

The fading of the traditions of monumental wall painting noted above did not at all mean their complete cessation in the art of the peoples of India. These traditions, although in a greatly modified form, were continued in book miniatures.

The earliest examples of medieval Indian miniature known to us are represented by the works of the so-called Gujarati school of the 13th-15th centuries. In content, they are almost entirely illustrations of Jain religious books. Initially, miniatures were written, like books, on palm leaves, and from the 14th-15th centuries. - on paper.

Gujarati miniatures have a number of characteristic features, primarily in the manner of depicting the human figure: the face was depicted in three-quarter view, and the eyes were drawn from the front. The long, pointed nose protruded far beyond the contour of the cheek. The chest was depicted as excessively high and rounded. The general proportions of the human figure were distinguished by their emphasized squatness.

At the court of the Great Mughals, the so-called Mughal school of miniatures developed and reached high perfection, the foundations for the development of which, according to sources, were laid by representatives of the Herat school, the artists Mir Seid Ali Tabrizi and Abd al-Samad Mashhadi. Mughal miniatures reached their peak in the first half of the 17th century, during the reign of Jehangir, who especially patronized this art.

Coming out of the traditions of classical medieval miniatures in Iran and Central Asia, Mughal miniatures in their development came closer than all other schools of oriental miniatures to realistic painting techniques. An important role in the formation of Mughal miniatures was played by the spirit of great interest in the individual and his experiences, interest in everyday life that reigned at the Mughal court. Undoubtedly, a large number of portraits and genre compositions are connected with this; It is significant that Mughal miniatures have preserved for us the largest number of names of artists and signed works, which is relatively rare in other schools. Along with expressive portraits, a significant place is occupied by images of palace receptions, festivals and festivities, hunting, etc. In developing these traditional subjects for oriental miniatures, Mughal artists correctly convey the perspective, although they construct it from an elevated point of view. Mughal masters achieved great perfection in depicting animals, birds and plants. Mansur was an outstanding master of this genre. He draws birds with impeccably precise lines, drawing out the details of their plumage with the finest strokes and gentle transitions of color.

The flourishing of Mughal miniatures contributed to the development at the end of the 17th-18th centuries. a number of local painting schools, when with the decline of the Mughal state, individual feudal principalities became stronger. Usually these schools are called the conventionally collective term Rajput miniature. These include the miniature schools of Rajasthan, Bundelkhand and some neighboring areas.

Miniature of the Mughal school, end of the 15th century. Reconciliation of Babur with Sultan Amir Mirza at Kokhlin near Samarkand

Favorite subjects of Rajput miniatures are episodes from the cycle of legends about Krishna, from Indian epic and mythological literature and poetry. Its distinctive features are great lyricism and contemplation. Her artistic style is characterized by an emphasized contour, a conventional flat interpretation of both the human figure and the surrounding landscape. Color in Rajput miniatures is always local.

In the middle of the 18th century. The artistic qualities of Rajput miniatures are declining, and they are gradually moving closer to folk popular prints.

The colonial period in Indian art history was a time of stagnation and decline of most traditional forms of medieval Indian art. At the end of the XVIII-XIX centuries. The features of original bright creativity are most preserved in Indian folk prints and wall paintings. In terms of their content, wall paintings and popular prints were predominantly cult art: numerous Brahman deities, episodes from religious legends and traditions were depicted, and less frequently, scenes taken from ordinary life were found. They are also close in artistic techniques: they are characterized by bright, saturated colors (mainly green, red, brown, blue), a clear, strong outline, and a flat interpretation of form.

One of the significant centers of Indian popular print was Kalighat near Calcutta, where in the 19th-20th centuries. A unique school of the so-called Kalighat popular print developed, which had a certain impact on the work of some modern painters.

In an effort to suppress any manifestations of Indian national culture, the British colonial administration tried to form a stratum of the population in the country, the representatives of which, according to the colonialists, being Indian by origin, would be English in their upbringing, education, morality, and way of thinking. The implementation of such a policy was facilitated by various educational institutions for Indians, the programs and the entire teaching system in which were built on English models; These institutions included a few art schools, in particular the Calcutta Art School.

At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. In India, a specific direction is emerging, sometimes called. Anglo-Indian art. It was created by European artists who worked in India and adopted some of the techniques of Indian miniature painting. On the other hand, in the formation of Anglo-Indian art, Indian artists played a large role, brought up in the traditions of Indian miniatures, but borrowing the techniques of European drawing and painting.

A typical representative of this trend was Ravi Varman (80-90s of the 19th century), whose works had strong traits of sentimentality and sweetness. This trend did not create any significant works and did not leave a noticeable mark on Indian art, but it to a certain extent contributed to a closer acquaintance of Indian artists with the techniques and techniques of European painting and drawing.

The formation of new, modern fine art in India at the beginning of the 20th century. associated with the names of E. Havell, O. Tagore and N. Boshu.

E. Havell, who headed in 1895-1905. Calcutta Art School, published a number of works on the history of Indian art, its content and artistic and stylistic features.

Indian miniature of the Rajput school, 17th century. God Shiva with his wife Parvaticheniya and the high artistic merits of ancient and medieval art monuments of India. In artistic and pedagogical practice, E. Havell called for following the traditional forms and techniques of Indian fine art. These ideas of E. Havell turned out to be in tune with the aspirations of the advanced Indian intelligentsia, who were looking for ways of national revival; Among the latter was O. Tagore, one of the most prominent figures in the movement of the so-called Bengali revival.

An outstanding public figure and an extraordinary artist, Obonindronath Tagore rallied around himself a significant group of young national intelligentsia and created several centers - unique universities, the main task of which was practical work on the reconstruction and revival of various branches of Indian artistic culture that had fallen into decline during colonial enslavement. India.

Another major figure in Indian art of the early twentieth century. There was a painter, Nondolal Boshu, who sought to create a new monumental painting style, based on the traditions of painting cave temples.

N. Boshu and O. Tagore were the founders of the movement known as the Bengal school. In the 20s and 30s, the Bengal school played a leading role in the fine arts of India - most of the artists of that time joined it.

N. Boshu, O. Tagore and their followers drew the plots of their works primarily from Indian mythology and history. Their works, very different in manner and style, contained many contradictions. Thus, O. Tagore, in his imitations of Mughal miniatures, combined the techniques characteristic of it with those of European and Japanese painting. The work of artists of the Bengal school as a whole is distinguished by the features of romanticism. But despite a number of weaknesses of their work, its ideological orientation, the desire to revive national painting, the appeal to purely Indian subjects and themes, combined with emphasized emotionality and individuality in an artistic manner, determined the success and popularity of the school of painting created by O. Tagore and N. Boshu . Many famous contemporary masters of the older generation came out of it, or were strongly influenced by it, like S. Ukil, D. Roy Chowdhury, B. Sen and others.

A bright and unique phenomenon is the work of Amrita Sher-Gil. Having received an artistic education in Italy and France, the artist, upon returning to India in the late 20s, took a completely different position compared to the Bengal school, which she rejected. The artist’s favorite subjects are the everyday life of the Indian peasantry in its various manifestations. Introducing this theme into Indian art, A. Sher-Gil in her works sought to show the plight of ordinary people in India at that time, thanks to which many of her works have a touch of tragedy and hopelessness. The artist developed her own, brightly individual style, characterized by a highly generalized line and a fundamentally realistic form. Her work, which did not gain popularity during the artist’s lifetime, was appreciated only in the post-war years and influenced many contemporary Indian artists.

India's independence created the preconditions for a new rise and development of architecture and fine arts, although the separation of Pakistan led to the isolation of significant artistic forces i

“Rest” (from a painting by artist Amrita Sher-Gil)

Contemporary artistic life in India is extremely diverse, complex and contradictory. Numerous trends and schools intertwine in it, and there is an intense search for ways of further development and improvement. Indian fine art is now going through a period of intense ideological and artistic struggle; The process of formation and formation of a new original national art is taking place, inheriting all the best traditions of centuries-old Indian artistic culture and striving to creatively master and rework the artistic techniques and means of the latest trends in world art.

In modern Indian architecture, a movement is emerging that seeks to create a new national style by reviving and using the forms and elements of ancient architecture, mainly from the time of the Guptas. Along with this stylizing movement, the modern architectural school of Corbusier is now extremely widespread in India; Corbusier himself developed the layout and architecture of buildings in Chandigarh, the new capital of Eastern Punjab, and built a number of public and private buildings in Ahmedabad and other cities. Many young Indian architects are working in the same direction.

In modern Indian fine art, various “ultra-modern,” modernist and abstractionist trends, spiritually related to the extreme formalist movements of Western European and American bourgeois art, have become widespread. Abstractionist tendencies in the work of Indian artists are often intertwined with decorative and stylizing techniques. These moments are especially striking in the works of such masters as J. Keith, K. Ara, M. Husain, A. Ahmad and others.

“They go out to sea” (from a painting by artist Hiren Dash)

Another direction in painting is also very widespread, turning to the famous monuments of ancient and medieval India in search of ways to revive national art. Continuing the traditions of the Bengal school, artists of this movement search in the cave paintings of Ajanta and Bagh, in Mughal and Rajput miniatures, in folk popular prints not only for the plots and themes of their works, but also for new, as yet unexplored pictorial, technical and compositional techniques. Along with symbolic and historical-mythological compositions, they also develop themes from folk life in their paintings. Their artistic style is characterized by a generalized conventionally decorative interpretation of form. A striking example is the work of Jamini Roy, an artist of the older generation and one of the most significant masters of this movement. Working in the early period of his creativity in the manner of the Bengal school, he later turned in his quest to popular popular print and developed a clear, smoothly rounded outline, a simple strong form, monumental and laconic composition, and strict coloring characteristic of his subsequent works. In the same spirit, but each in his own individual manner, such prominent artists as M. Dey, S. Mukherjee, K. Srinivasalu and others work. Realistic techniques of painting are not alien to them.

“Circle after circle” (from a painting by artist K. K. Hebbar)

Along with these trends, a movement is growing and strengthening in Indian art, developing themes from the everyday modern life of the peoples of India using realistic means. The works of artists of this movement reflect with great expressiveness, love and warmth the images of ordinary people of India; the features of their life and work are conveyed very poetically and vitally truthfully. These are the paintings and graphic works: A. Mukherjee (“Pond in the Village”), *S. N. Banerjee (“Transplanting Rice Seedlings”), B. N. Jija (“The Malabar Beauty”), B. Sena (“The Magic Pond”), H. Das (“Going Out to Sea”), K. K. Hebbar (“Circle after Circle”), A. Bose (portrait of R. Tagore), sculpture by Ch. Kara (portrait of M. K. Gandhi) and many others.”

These main directions by no means exhaust the diversity of artistic movements and the individual uniqueness of the work of Indian artists. Many masters, in their creative search for new paths, use a very wide arsenal of visual means and create works in a wide variety of, often contradictory, manners.

Fine art in India is now experiencing a period of vigorous exploration in the field of ideological content and artistic form. The key to its successful and fruitful development is the close connection of advanced Indian artists with the life and aspirations of the Indian people, “with the movement of humanity towards peace and progress.

In these halls, temple dancers performed ritual dances.

On the territory of the mosque there is a famous stainless metal column dating back to the 4th-5th centuries. n. e. Many Indians believe that they will be lucky if they can wrap their arms around a column with their back to it.