Art of IndiaUnderstanding the

Symbolisms of Indian Art

What is Indian art?

• Indian art is the art produced in India from the 3rd millennium BC until modern times. To Westerners, Indian art may be considered ornate or exaggerated and sensuous.

• It is usually related to the cultural history, religions and philosophies of India.

• Its forms are as vast as the many symbolisms they represent.

Different Examples of Indian Art

• Rock-cut Architecture• Folk and Tribal Art• Paintings• Buildings and Structures

Examples of Indian Art

…and some information about them.

Bani Thani

Bani Thani is an Indian painting in the Kishangarh school of paintings. It has been labeled as India’s Mona Lisa. The painting's subject, Bani Thani, was a singer and poet in Kishangarh in the time of king Savant Singh (1748-1764).

The Jataka Tales

The Jātaka Tales refer to a voluminous body of folklore-like literature native to India concerning the previous births (jāti) of the Buddha. The word most specifically refers to a text division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka.

Bhimbetka Rock Paintings

The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological World Heritage site located in Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The rock shelters and caves of Bhimbetka have a number of interesting paintings which depict the lives and times of the people who lived in the caves, as well as the natural environment around them.

This is the only painting in the caves

of Bhimbetka that depicts an animal

hunting a man.

This is the only painting in the caves

of Bhimbetka that depicts an animal

hunting a man.

Barabar Caves

The Barabar Caves are the oldest rock-cut caves in India, dating back to the Mauryan period (322 – 185 BCE), and some with Asokan (Ashokan) inscriptions, located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India, 18 kilometers north of Gaya.

The Shore Temple

The Shore Temple (700-728 CE) is so named because it over looks the Bay of Bengal. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of granite, dating from the 8th century AD. It was built sticking out into the Bay of Bengal at Mamallapuram, a village south of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The Shore Temples configuration of the two Shiva shrines with the small Vishnu shrine in between illustrates an attempt to balance the different, competing religious requirements.

The Ellora Caves

The Ellora Caves is an archaeological site, 30 km (19 mi) from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta rulers. They represent the greatest of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves is located on the Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbor. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, has two groups of caves, a large group of five Hindu caves and a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The former caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva

In this sculpture, the Hindu god Ravana is

shaking Mount Kailash.

In this sculpture, the Hindu god Ravana is

shaking Mount Kailash.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

The walls, even the outside, of the Taj

Mahal are filled with lots of diamonds and other precious rocks.

The walls, even the outside, of the Taj

Mahal are filled with lots of diamonds and other precious rocks.

Shah JahanHe asked to build the Taj Mahal for his wife

Mumtaz MahalThe Taj Mahal was dedicated to her