Rudhigat : Art, a story

Art, a Story

Why every Art has a story?

The uniqueness and history of art are what makes it special. It is not just a decorative item, but it was also created for everyday life by ancient people and other eras in human history. Art is simply an innovation. Every innovation goes through a process from conception to execution.

Indian is the oldest country in the world. Many ancient societies have come and left their arts to the future human societies. This allows them to understand and relate their lives through the arts.

How a story begins!

The history of Indian art starts 28 miles southeast of Bhopal, in the Vindhya mountain region of Madhya Pradesh state. Bhimbetka rocks shelter in Raisen is the oldest example of Indian Subcontinent art. This was twelve years before the discovery in Spain of Altamira Caves by a British colonial-era official. There are 750 rock shelters spread over 6.2 miles at this prehistoric site. The paintings depicting animals, hunting, dances, and other activities are created using vegetable colours. They have been preserved so well because they were painted within a niche or inner wall. These paintings date back to around 30,000 years ago!

'Indian Art Story' includes not only paintings but also sculptures, pottery and architecture. The history of art, especially in India, has been influenced by religion. The art scene of India was influenced by Sikhism and Buddhism, Jainism and Islam, as well as Sikhism and Buddhism. The art was incorporated into the existing art scene as religion moved from India to other parts of the subcontinent or Southeast Asia. The artistic scenes in Japan, China and Vietnam are similar to those found in India. These countries have many historical connections that bind them. Art is one of those.

Art Story of Terracotta


The next in line is the art of Indus Valley Civilization, just after the cave artwork. Terracotta makes the story earthy and reddish-brown. During the colonial period, Pakistan was home to the Harappa as well as Mohenjo Daro.

The Dancing Girl and The Priest Man are the most well-known artworks from this wonderful land. This ancient civilization created Terracotta, which is a porous type of unglazed or glazed ceramic that has been fired.

This time period is known as the "black and red ware culture" (BRW). The black and red ware culture (BRW) of this time includes the semi-precious Carnelian.

These artefacts allow one to explore the cultural and artistic scene of Bronze Age India. These artefacts are like a portal to the life our ancestors led riding bullock carts along brick-lined streets.

It is impossible to look at excavated art objects and not be amazed by their incredible craftsmanship and resilience.

Art story in the Times of Great Dynasties


We skip many years in order to reach the Mauryan period after the Indus valley. The great rulers Ashoka and Chandragupta were responsible for architectural excellence at their peak. For the promotion of Buddhism, stupas for Buddhists were made in rock-cut styles across the empire. India treasures this historic period and the national emblem was derived from the Lion Capital constructed during that period.

The Mauryans made prominent use of cave architecture and temples after that. Some caves had frescoes. Many idols were based on religious themes. Beautiful examples of medieval Indian architecture can be found at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Khajuraho temples. Two religions are represented by the temples: Jainism and Hinduism. They represent the Indian spirit of inclusion and tolerance.

Over the years, the Deccan region was home to many kingdoms that added to India's artistic heritage. Then in 1526 the Mughals invaded northern India. They encouraged Persian architecture and art here. As they propagated their style, they destroyed Indian art. This was a turbulent period in art history. Many temples, such as Kashi Vishwanath or Somnath, were destroyed. Some art styles were destroyed forever when traditional Indian artisans were discouraged from making works that were inspired by Islam.

These miniature paintings are in Rajput and Mughal styles. These miniature paintings are small-sized works that were either used as illustrations in books or kept as single pieces within a file. Akbarnama owns a large collection of miniature Mughal-style paintings. Nur Jahan Famous miniature artworks include Radha (Bani Thani), and Radha. The northern plain saw a huge exodus of artists and, when they settled in southern India, Deccani, Mysore and Tanjore schools were established. Now, the plot of the story is close to the history that was written the rest. The culture of India was greatly affected by colonialism and the Indian struggle to become independent. The British built monuments and roads in India, but they did so for selfish reasons. On the other hand, India's history was preserved in art, architecture, and craftsmanship.

Art Story of Contemporary Style


From the year 1900, the contemporary art era begins. Freedom was the reigning emotion at that point. Western concepts like abstractionism affected the artists on this side of the world. Names like F. N. Souza, M. F. Hussain, and S. H. Raza come to mind from the first years of the start of this era. These three and three other artists ran the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group. they're answerable for promoting expressionism, cubism, and post-impressionism within the country. Women like Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, and Anjali Ela Menon are three of the Indian women who brought female creativity, themes, and perspective into Indian art.

Artists from Shantiniketan inherit the story next. Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Abanindranath Tagore, and Ramkinkar Baij brought their newfound style. A nationalist wave swept the whole nation, how could art remain untouched. These artists rejected western modernism and were inspired to appear in the eastern nations, with whom we share religious temper. Japanese art elements were incorporated into Indian art by these Indian artists.

Art Story Goes On…


Coming to the tip of the story, let’s influence the folks and tribal art of India. It finds a parallel within the art of the indigenous people elsewhere on the earth. Metalwork, weaving, jewellery-making, and body art are the various elements of the art scene within the distant lands and therefore the deep jungles of India. Their art is an expression of the raw nature and natural phenomenon that they perceive. Tribes, irrespective of Indian or American, are that group of individuals who have lived amidst nature since ages, these are the groups that survived major wars and battles, remained off from the mainstream, and had their own unique lifestyle and cultural practices. Although within the modern world, little of the land is left from being untouched and intervened by the technology and modern destructive development, the wonderfully connected life that these people had with their land, a number of those magic still remains and wherever, nonetheless in bits and pieces, it survives, it evokes amazement. Indian tribal art will surely mesmerize you because it touches upon a deep-seated connection inside all of us- the one we share with nature; soil, water, air, fire and sky.
The story is now written by contemporary artists who are more equipped, open, free, and privileged by the blessings of contemporary technology and developments within the society than any of their historical counterparts ever were.
The story attempted to hide an extremely long period of about 33,200 years but it's utterly lacking. And it surely doesn’t end here. It continues.