Indian art is a manifestation of Indian life. It is an ex-pression of the vast natural background and its socio-religious traditions. Arts of India are not particularly restricted in the confined boundaries; instead it experiments and creates far reaching impacts on individuals. Its style or technique has nothing to do with any particular religious belief. Ancient Indian art is based upon vast ideas of Indian traditions, symbols and designs. When one talks about Hindu or Buddhist art, it indeed is popular but is just a minuscule part of the great diversity of art that one finds in India. Painting, cave-temples and architecture though are influenced by the religion; they also have an inane quality of impressionism and creativity. Fortunately enough in India where Buddhism still exists, there are innumerable monuments representing different phases of Buddhism and these help us to visualize the trend of Indian Buddhist art through the ages.

India is known for its rich Indian paintings like the Madhubani painting, Mysore painting, Warli art, Tanjore paintings, etc. However the modern Indian painting seems to be influenced from the western art. Indian art has developed through specific stages and each stage marks peculiar characteristics. The wide scope of the Indian art mingles with the cultural history, religions and philosophies. Indian art can be classified into specific periods each reflecting certain religious, political and cultural developments:

Hinduism and Buddhism art of the ancient period (3500BC-present), Islamic art (712-1757 AD), The colonial period art (1757-1947), Independence and the postcolonial period art, Modern and Postmodern art in India. Each period is unique in its art, literature and architecture and other craft. Art in India rises to the peak of achieving the ideals of one philosophy in a visual form. Indian artists are known for their innovation and creation. They master the process of visualizing abstract ideas and the culture of the land.

Since india is known for its unity in diversity, the same can be said for indian art as well. Each religion provides its own nuances, vast metaphors and rich associations. They are combined with wild imaginations, humanization of peculiar Gods and characterization of people. The purpose and ideal of a traditional Indian life are exhaustively interpreted on canvas art prints.

Famous Indian artists like Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-gill, Rabindranath Tagore, Tyeb Mehta, M.F.Hussain, Jamini Roy, V.S.Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, Rameshwar Broota, Manjit Bawa etc have all contributed significantly in the development of Indian art. Continuing from antiquity, traditional Indian art has evolved and is represented today by the sheer magnificence of Contemporary Indian Art. The contemporary Indian art is one of the most vibrant in the world.

It is marked by a delightful exuberance that has not been seen in the Mughal art of the16th and 17th centuries. Art of Modern India rightly explains the reasons behind the current artistic renaissance especially in a country where traditions are strong despite two centuries of British rule.

Useful sites:

art.in - Official Indian art site