Perspective in Ajanta Paintings

Part - 1

So far, we have discussed the inner thought behind the concept of several compositions of Ajanta cave paintings; now, we will analyze the sense of perspective in Ajanta paintings by digging into the several problems artists faced in bringing out the distance factor in their paintings.  

To understand creativity in such an essential platform of grammar, we have to focus on the creative vision of those painters and know how they visualize problems related to the sense of perspective.  

It is well known that they had no impact on those rules that help to enlighten the physical modeling of an object. Instead, it was their objective to reveal the entirety of the object and to do so; they adopted some easy but artistic ways that helped to reveal the total form of an object from multiple viewpoints. For example, when they attempted to depict a throne, they implemented both viewpoints - planned and profile- on the throne, which consequently helps viewers see the throne together in quadrilateral and rectangular positions. How is it possible? The artists of Ajanta adopted a style that virtually matched the Egyptian concept of perspective. They composed the background, middle, and foreground of a composition or object by creating several rows step by step and avoiding using the aerial perspective that would help to recognize the distance factor. The objects placed vertically were portrayed in profile view, and those placed horizontally served in a vertically planed view. A row of trees is usually depicted according to eye level, but in the case of any object related to the land, such as a pond, river, open green land, or stones, they strived to show in bird’s view!

Mahajanaka Jataka, Cave No 1

Meanwhile, they ignored the photographic reality by implementing impersonation, which would intensify the objective precisely behind the creation. They believed in such a model that has the power to produce ecstasy or disaster. For this reason, we can see a lot of ancient Indian paintings where a figure is placed at a profile angle, but her two eyes and even her two ears are visible equally. I also use such a method in most of my paintings. Below is an example of my newly finished painting, - 

Title - Street Melody. Artist - Author

In the western part of India, most of the ancient miniature artists have adopted such genre in their paintings; moreover, in the pad paintings and the illustrations formed in the ancient manuscripts of Jain and other communities, including “Basholi-Kalam” of Indian miniature, we will find the genre stated above astonishingly implemented with highest artistic aesthetic. From my point of view, such a method is similar to the vision of Pablo Picasso, who always endeavored to establish the vision of his intellectual eye instead of his outward vision. Therefore, in his cubism, we can see most of the parts of an object in a single viewpoint. 

In focusing on the oldest grammar book of paintings composed in the BC Third century, named “Chittrasadanga,” and the related numerous discussions in regards to those ancient aphorisms of the grammar book, without any hesitation, we can now easily determine that our present discussion is going in the right direction. We can now proclaim that the original reality of a painting comes from the meditative intuition of an artist, and this is why we always perceive the inner soul of an object in a modern painting based on the intuition of an artist that will never harmonize with any outer reality.

What do you think? Please share your opinion here. Thank you.

Image Resource - Mahajanaka Jataka