Middle kingdoms and the Late Medieval period (c.600 CE c.1300 CE)
Over this period Hindu temple architecture matured into a number of regional styles, and a large proportion of the art historical record for this period consists of temple sculpture, much of which remains in place. The political history of the middle kingdoms of India saw India divided into many states, and since much of the grandest building was commissioned by rulers and their court, this helped the development of regional differences. Painting, both on a large scale on walls, and in miniature forms, was no doubt very widely practiced, but survivals are rare. Medieval bronzes have most commonly survived from either the Tamil south, or the Himalayan foothills.
Dynasties of South India (c.3rd century CE c.1300 CE)
Inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka mention coexistence of the northern kingdoms with the triumvirate of Chola, Chera and Pandya Tamil dynasties, situated south of the Vindhya mountains. The medieval period witnessed the rise and fall of these kingdoms, in conjunction with other kingdoms in the area. It is during the decline and resurgence of these kingdoms that Hinduism was renewed. It fostered the construction of numerous temples and sculptures.
The Shore Temple at Mamallapuram constructed by the Pallavas symbolizes early Hindu architecture, with its monolithic rock relief and sculptures of Hindu deities. They were succeeded by Chola rulers who were prolific in their pursuit of the arts. The Great Living Chola Temples of this period are known for their maturity, grandeur and attention to detail, and have been recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The Chola period is also known for its bronze sculptures, the lost-wax casting technique and fresco paintings. Thanks to the Hindu kings of the Chalukya dynasty, Jainism flourished alongside Islam evidenced by the fourth of the Badami cave temples being Jain instead of Vedic. The kingdoms of South India continued to rule their lands until the Muslim invasions that established sultanates there and destroyed much of the temples and marvel examples of architectures and sculptures
Temples of Khajuraho (c.800 CE c.1000 CE)
Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Khajuraho group of monuments were constructed by the Chandela clan of the Rajput dynasties. Apart from the usual Hindu temples, 10% of the sculptures depict twisted bodies of men and women that shed light on the everyday socio-cultural and religious practices in Medieval India. Ever since their discovery, the degree of sexuality depicted in these sculptures has drawn both negative and positive criticism from scholars.
The Khajuraho temples were in active use under Hindu kingdoms, until the establishment of the Delhi Sultanates of the 13th century. Under Muslim rule until the 18th century, many of Khajuraho's monuments were destroyed, but a few ruins still remain.
Deccan
Other Hindu states are now mainly known through their surviving temples and their attached sculpture. These include Badami Chalukya architecture (5th to 6th centuries), Western Chalukya architecture (11th to 12th centuries) and Hoysala architecture (11th to 14th centuries), all centred on modern Karnataka.
In east India, Odisha and West Bengal, Kalinga architecture was the broad temple style, with local variants, before the Muslim conquest.
Art museums of India
Major cities
- National Museum, New Delhi
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai (formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India)
- Indian Museum, Kolkata
- Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
- Government Museum (Bangalore)
- Government Museum, Chennai
- Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh
Archaeological museums
- AP State Archaeology Museum, Hyderabad
- Archaeological Museum, Thrissur
- City Museum, Hyderabad
- Government Museum, Mathura
- Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli
- Hill Palace, Tripunithura, Ernakulam
- Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar
- Patna Museum
- Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, Kozhikode
- Sanghol Museum
- Sarnath Museum
- State Archaeological Gallery, Kolkata
- Victoria Jubilee Museum, Vijayawada
Modern art museums
- National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi - established 1954.
- National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai - established 1996.
- National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore - inaugurated 2009.
- Kolkata Museum of Modern Art - foundation laid in 2013.
Other museums
- Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur
- Allahabad Museum
- Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Kolkata
- Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery
- Goa State Museum, Panaji
- Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram
- National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi
- Sanskriti Museums, Delhi
- Watson Museum, Rajkot
- Srimanthi Bai Memorial Government Museum, Mangalore
See also
Indian painting
Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai
Indian architecture
- Indian vernacular architecture
Crafts of India
Rasa (art)
Notes
References
- Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, ISBN0300062176
- Harsha V. Dehejia, The Advaita of Art (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000, ISBN81-208-1389-8), p.97
- Kapila Vatsyayan, Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts (New Delhi: Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1977), p.8
- Mitter, Partha. Indian Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN0-19-284221-8)
Further reading
- Gupta, S. P., & Asthana, S. P. (2007). Elements of Indian art: Including temple architecture, iconography & iconometry. New Delhi: Indraprastha Museum of Art and Archaeology.
- Gupta, S. P., & Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. (2011). The roots of Indian art: A detailed study of the formative period of Indian art and architecture, third and second centuries B.C., Mauryan and late Mauryan. Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation.
- Abanindranath Tagore (1914). Some Notes on Indian Artistic Anatomy. Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta. OL6213535M.
- Kossak, Steven (1997). Indian court painting, 16th-19th century.. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN978-0870997839. (see index: pages148-152)
- Lerner, Martin (1984). The flame and the lotus: Indian and Southeast Asian art from the Kronos collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN978-0870993749. fully online
- Smith, Vincent A. (1930). A History Of Fine Art In India And Ceylon. The Clarendon Press, Oxford.
- Welch, Stuart Cary (1985). India: art and culture, 1300-1900. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN9780944142134. fully online