The set of various religions, as well as gods and cultures can leave some confusion surrounding everything that contains the art of India. That is why in this first presentation on Asian art we want to share the history of the artistic manifestations that emerged in this country chronologically, from 2,500 BC. C. approximately until the 20th century.

First, we need to establish what were the three great reasons throughout the centuries that marked the art in India: Buddhist art, Indo-Islamic art and the westernization of India. In these three there was the emergence of Buddhism, Hinduism, the arrival of Muslims, the Mongols and the British, therefore, the changes and influences that Indian art received are extensive.

Art in the Indus Valley (2,500 – 1,500 BC)

The main representations during this time were more architectural and sculptural. Their architecture was organized and made with great meticulousness, they traced the streets of the cities with string and maintained an order for everything. In sculpture they differed from the Egyptians and the Sumerians in the proportions of the works, while these other civilizations made colossal sculptures, in India smaller works were worked and made as low relief. Animal figures were constant, but they were more concerned with representing the human form.

Very few vestiges remain from this period and almost none are found from the Vedic Era (1,500 to 1,000 BC), however, it is known that they paid great attention to the design of their cities and began to worrying about narrative content and expression in his art due to the richness of Vedic mythology.

Buddhist art from the 3rd century BC. to XII

Religious architecture was one of the main manifestations in this aspect, among these the stupas and chaityas stood out. The stupas were centers surrounded by large stones, within these, the worshipers dedicated themselves to reflection and other activities; they were dedicated to the stay of the most dedicated Buddhists, they were not for meetings of followers like the function that we know that other religious centers such as temples have. On the other hand, the chaityas were made with the intention of covering the stupas and being able to house more worshipers inside. Although these served for Buddhism, several were abandoned and reused by Hinduism, then receiving Hindu art for decoration.

Other manifestations also focused on sculpture, which was evolving since Buddha did not want to be worshiped as an idol and this was respected for several centuries, but over time figurines and statuettes of his image began to appear, until reaching the well-known colossal statues of Buddha. The features that were attributed to the Buddha's face, from the almond-shaped eyes, to the shape of the face, among others, were considered as an ideal of beauty.

Hindu art (5th to 17th century)

Hinduism developed almost at the same time as Buddhism, but its artistic manifestations were a little more ambitious. In the architecture some elements were inspired by beautiful and complicated fruits and the studies they had on astronomy. The sculpture also underwent changes, first the high relief and freestanding sculptures became the main concerns for Hindu sculpture, the expression of these also became extremely important and what made it more challenging was the complexity possessed by the epic description of each god – such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, among others – then the need to express not only the great image of their gods, but also their legendary battles and stories were other challenges for sculpture.

Hindu sculpture was quite enriched by trying to correspond to the greatness of literature but painting also had its revolutionary contributions that make it worth mentioning in this article. One of the remarkable characteristics of painting was the appearance of erotic art. Once again, literature was found as the main source of inspiration. The paintings were somewhat flat, the strokes simple, but there were beginning to be hints of chiaroscuro and dynamism thanks to the expression of various positions and the interaction between two bodies. Erotic art was soon expressed through sculpture as well.

Indo-Islamic art, Delhi Sultanate (1210 – 1526)

With the arrival of the Muslims, art in India was divided into northern and southern art. On one hand, the south kept performing Hindu art, while the north was almost completely taken over by Muslim influence, even installing the sultanate system.

The changes that were seen in the architecture are highly drastic, two new buildings appear for India, these were the mosque and the mausoleum. The first as a congregation and pilgrimage center for all those who converted to Islam and the second as a tomb for important personalities such as sultans or other high-ranking officials. As for the decoration, epigraphy predominated, consisting of writings and engravings of verses from the Koran on the walls. In turn, a new characteristic appeared for the buildings, this was the presence of multiple domes, an aspect that had not been present in either the Buddhist stupas or the Hindu temples.

The painting was highly austere and symbolic, without particularly bright colors - other than red and yellow - and with a scarcity of human figures, since in Islam human figures could not be represented to idolize. During this period, northern mountainous areas such as Tibet remained performing Buddhist art.

Indo-Islamic art, Mongol dynasty (1526 – 1757)

The most important contributions of the Mongols in the art of India are found in painting, but this had two sources. The first was the influence of Chinese painting and the second, the beginnings of European influence on the art of India.

Within the court of Mongol emperors, there was a mixture of Islamic and Chinese art, but this was quickly affected by European influences as the emperors received foreign gifts, which were Italian, Flemish, German paintings, among others. Thanks to this, attempts at chiaroscuro, the appearance of linear perspective, composition and foreshortening began to be seen in painting.

Complicated scenes full of dynamism were replaced by solitary and thoughtful characters accompanied by simple backgrounds. However, there was some difficulty in applying the characteristics of European art since there were examples of paintings, but not the studies and texts that provide the understanding to carry them out and apply them correctly in painting. By the 18th century, almost at the end of this period, there are strong Flemish influences in painting, mainly in the canons of beauty that were applied to the characters represented.

Westernization process

With the declive of the emperors, a labor crisis arose among the artists and one of the solutions they found was to seek employment in the East India Company, which resulted in a change of style in Indian painting, to respond to the tastes and demands that the British had, in turn, received advice on managing perspective and composition.

With the appearance of such drastic changes, two schools were created that handled different ideals. The first, the Calcutta School, focused on the study of European classical antiquity and studies of the nude. On the other hand, the Bengal School focused on the study of its cultural roots and the search for an indigenous style for Indian art. However, the influence of the West was increasingly heavy and inevitable, even the first exhibition of European art in India arrived in 1922, which featured works by Klee and Kandisnky.

The art of India is certainly rich and full of diverse influences, endowed with its own sense of aesthetics, canons and spirit, exploring the expression of history, religion, mythology and life as much as any other civilization. This makes it difficult to integrate each point of this art through the centuries in a single article, however, we hope that the notions shared in this - despite being very general - have meant a contribution on this topic to the reader.

Sources: Victoria & Albert's Museum, History of art - art from the Asian continent.