Introduction to the History of Arts

India has a cultural heritage of nearly 5,000 years. We can see and experience this heritage through artefacts, monuments, paintings, manuscripts, musical instruments, clothing, jewellery, masks, and many kinds of performances.

Ancient Indian texts talk about 64 kalās (arts and skills) that were meant to help a person grow as a complete individual. These kalās did not only mean painting, music, dance, and drama — they also included things like cooking, carpentry, herbal medicine, grooming, and even good conversation skills. This shows that in ancient India, almost every part of daily life was connected to some form of art.

Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO (an international organisation working on culture and education) divides cultural heritage into two types:

Why study the History of Arts?

• It builds pride and awareness about our rich cultural heritage.
• It sparks curiosity about the time, place, and people behind an artwork.
• It helps us appreciate creative ideas from different points of view.
• It inspires us to carry these traditions forward in our own lives.

This chapter brings together four major art forms — Theatre, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts — on one single timeline. This helps us see how these art forms influenced each other and how ideas travelled between regions and even between countries over time.

Shruti, Smriti and Timeless Traditions

Long before writing was invented, people passed on knowledge through speaking and listening. Parents taught their children languages, arts, and culture through lullabies, stories, and everyday conversation. This is called an oral tradition.

Many stories from these great epics are still retold today in regional art styles such as Ramalila, Bhavai, Kavad Katha, Terukuttu, Bayalata, Patachitra, and Ankiya Nat.

Early performing arts can be traced back to Vedic Yajna rituals, which combined movement, dialogue, and music. Indian music traditions are linked to the Samaveda, where chants slowly developed from one note, to three notes, and finally to seven notes (saptasvara).

The Big Timeline of Art History

This chapter is divided into four broad time periods. Here is a simple overview before we explore each one in detail:

The Age of Cave Paintings

This was the time before writing was invented, so we learn about it only through archaeological evidence such as cave paintings, figurines, and stone tools.

India

Cave paintings from this period are found at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), Lakhudiyar (Uttarakhand), and many other sites in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.

• Bhimbetka paintings show animals, hunting scenes, and group dances. They were painted using natural earth colours like red, white, yellow, and green, mixed with water and a binding agent.
• Lakhudiyar caves show sketches of animals and human figures and also belong to the Stone Age.

Rest of the World

Similar cave paintings are found in Altamira (Spain), Chauvet and Lascaux (France), and Sulawesi (Indonesia). Bone flutes made by Neanderthals have also been discovered in different parts of the world, showing that music is one of humanity's oldest art forms.

Rise of Early Civilisations

As civilisations grew along riverbanks, people invented writing systems to record their lives. The earliest script of the Indian subcontinent appears on seals from the Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation.

Important India Artefacts

• Bronze Figurine, Mohenjo-Daro (2600 BCE): Made using the lost-wax technique, a method of metal casting still used today in Dhokra craft. The figure has one knee bent and hand on the waist.
• Unicorn Seal, Harappa: A famous pictographic seal from this civilisation.
• Painted Terracotta Pot: Shows the painting skills of this period.

Related World Developments

• Cuneiform Tablet (Sumeria, 3100–2900 BCE): One of the earliest writing systems, used here to record barley distribution.
• Bowl from Majiayao Culture (China): Decorated with dancing figures.
• Pyramids at Giza (Egypt, around 2580 BCE): Massive stone tombs built for Egyptian pharaohs.
• Arched Harp (Egypt): A wooden stringed musical instrument.
• Ikhernofret Stela: A stone inscription describing the "Passion Play of Abydos," considered one of the earliest recorded examples of a performance, with defined roles, costumes, and audience participation.

Treatises, Stupas and Sculpture Centres

Important Texts and Treatises

From around 500 BCE, scholars began writing detailed texts on the arts. Three major treatises from this period are:

1. Natyashastra by Bharata Muni
2. Vishnu-dharmottara Purana (contains the Chitra-sutra, about painting)
3. Silappadigaram by Ilango Adigal

Cave Architecture and Stupas

As Buddhism and Jainism grew popular, many stupas (monuments built over Buddha's relics), chaityas (prayer halls), and viharas (monasteries) were built from the 3rd century BCE onwards. Important sites include Barabar, Bharhut, Sarnath, Ajanta, and Ellora.

In the early phase of Buddhism, Buddha was not shown as a human figure. Instead, symbols like the Bodhi tree platform, the stupa, the elephant, and the lotus represented him.

Important Centres for Sculpture

Sarnath, Mathura, and Gandhara became three major centres for Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain sculpture, each with its own special style.

Iconography — Reading Symbols in Art

Iconography means using symbols to identify a god, character, or theme in an artwork. For example, Shiva is identified by the trishula and damaru, while Sarasvati is identified by the veena and a swan.

Painting

Early painting traditions are found at the Ajanta caves (Maharashtra) and Sittannavasal caves (Tamil Nadu). Paintings made directly on a wall are called murals.

• Ajanta murals used earth pigments and natural colours on a plastered wall.
• A blue pigment from lapis lazuli (a stone) shows that artists were in contact with Persian or Central Asian traders.
• Artists used shading and perspective to create a sense of depth and three-dimensionality.

Influence of Sanskrit Literature

Music, dance, and drama of this period were deeply shaped by Sanskrit literature. Famous playwright Kalidasa wrote plays like Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvashiyam, which featured characters skilled in the arts.

Related Developments in Global Art

• Greek theatre began at Dionysian festivals, where masks represented comedy and tragedy.
• Words like "theatre" (from theatron) and "screen" (from skene) come from Greek language.
• Roman art is known for realistic, life-like portrait sculptures.
• The Colosseum in Rome hosted huge public events like gladiator games.

Temples, Bhakti Movement, and Bronze Art

The Bhakti Movement

Around the 7th century CE, Tamil poet-saints called Alvars and Nayanmars spread Bhakti (devotion) as a path open to everyone, regardless of social status. This movement strongly influenced music and dance for the next thousand years and continues to inspire artists today.

Dancers became closely linked to temples during this period, leading to the tradition of temple dancers. Chola records show dancers were grouped into temple dancers, ritual dancers, court dancers, and dancers for public audiences.

Important Treatises of this Period

Rock-Cut Architecture

The Kailasha Temple at Ellora Caves (Maharashtra) is the largest single-stone (monolithic) free-standing structure in the world. It was carved out of solid basalt rock from the top downwards — builders had to visualise the whole temple before cutting even a single piece of rock. It took about 18 years to build and around 4,00,000 tonnes of rock were removed.

Temple Sculptures

Temple walls across India are covered with carvings showing stories from the Puranas and epics, as well as people performing music and dance. Famous examples include the Chidambaram temple (Tamil Nadu) showing the 108 Karanas (dance poses) from the Natyashastra, and the Khajuraho monuments (Madhya Pradesh).

The Chola Bronze Natraja — Shiva as Lord of Dance

The Cholas mastered bronze sculpture-making. The most iconic example is the Natraja, showing Shiva dancing inside a ring of fire, symbolising the cycle of the universe.

• Ring of Fire: Represents the cyclical nature of the universe.
• Four Hands: Represent fire (destruction), protection, refuge, and the source of sound.
• Flying Hair: Represents River Ganga, with a snake within it.
• Feet: One foot shows detachment leading to liberation (moksha), the other crushes ignorance, shown as a small dwarf figure (Apasmara Purusha).

Manuscript Painting

The Gilgit Manuscript from Kashmir is the earliest surviving manuscript, made on birch bark between the 5th and 6th century CE. Until paper arrived in the 12th century, manuscripts were usually written on palm leaf or sometimes cloth.

Related Developments in Global Art

Indian art and culture travelled to Southeast Asia through trade routes, Chola naval expeditions, and travelling monks. The Ramayana and Mahabharata greatly influenced art in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

• Angkor Wat (Cambodia, 12th century CE): A massive Hindu-Buddhist temple built by the Khmer Empire.
• Wayang Kulit: Shadow puppetry from Indonesia, based on Hindu epics.

Living Traditions

Some art forms have been practised for so long that we cannot pin down their exact starting date. These are called living traditions — they include pottery, textiles, painting, sculpture, crafts, music, dance, and drama that continue to thrive even today.

Examples of Living Traditions

• Metal Crafts: Dhokra art uses the ancient lost-wax process to make metal artefacts and jewellery, practised across central and eastern India.
• Painting Traditions: Warli painting (Maharashtra), Madhubani painting, and Patachitra are well-known regional painting styles.
• Masks: Used in performances like Pili Vesha (tiger dance, Karnataka) and tribal mask traditions in Arunachal Pradesh and Goa.
• Musical Instruments: Instruments like the Taus (Mayuri Veena) continue traditional craftsmanship.
• Storytelling Traditions: Tolpavakutu (shadow puppetry from Kerala) keeps ancient narrative styles alive.

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