Indian Fine Arts – Evolution from Traditional to Contemporary

The Indian art has its origin in the early times of prehistoric period when ancient people conveyed their ideas through paintings on the rock, which gave way to the evolution of the art. The oldest cave paintings of Bhimbetaka, which is considered to be more than ten thousand years old created using some pigments and dyes, are the best examples of the history of Indian art. Since then the art took various shapes and styles depicting the ideas of the people, which varied in different periods due to various cultures and traditions followed by people.

The development of art was seen during the period between 2500 and 1700 BC of the Indus Valley Civilization when many statuettes made of steatite, limestone and terracotta were found. Most of the art depicted the abstractions of the humans and animals carved with great sophistication and expertise. This showed that Indian art was always the abstractions of forms. The dancing girl is another abstraction form found during the Harappa Civilization and formed part of the Indian art.

Further developments showed the introduction of realism in the Indian art in the third century BC and schools of art like the Gandhar School of Art and Mauryan School of Art. The abstractions in various degrees were found in Ajanta and Ellora Caves during the Gupta period. And the Muslim invaders brought new forms of fine arts such as floral motifs and miniature art, which form part of Indian fine arts. The emergence of various schools of art popularizing Mughal, Rajasthani and Pahari arts gave varied forms.

Other than architecture, painting, clayware and sculptures the art in India extended to give a broader classification of performing and visual arts comprising dance, music, musical instruments and drama. The visual arts in the twenty-first century gave birth to the contemporary art that used new concepts instilling individualism making artists thinking of having their own style.

Indian Fine Arts Galleries and Their Prominence

The Indian fine arts, which are known for its various forms, are renowned all over the world. The various Indian fine art galleries, which were developed during the periods and emerged recently, are instrumental in bringing international recognitions for the art and artists in the country.

Some of the popular art galleries like the Cymroza Art Gallery and Guild Art Gallery have introduced, popularized and educated people Indian fine arts such as sculptures, photography, painting, weaving, and print-making through various exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, publishing in journals and art magazines. The various Indian fine arts academies conduct annual or seasonal festivals promoting various classical and folk dances and music such as Bharat Natyam, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Mohini Attam, Odissi, Kathak, Bihu, Gaur, Padayani, and Bhangra.

These galleries and houses also promoted other Indian fine arts forms such as photography, designing, poetry, film-making, and so on. The modern trends have brought in different ways the artists communicated their ideas using shapes, designs and colors.

The author has made extensive research in Indian art and culture, and has written a lot of blogs and articles on various forms of Indian fine arts. For more details, log into Osianama.com.