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CHAPTER I

THE PRINCIPLES OF INDIAN PAINTING, AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRINCIPAL SCHOOLS

The principles of the art of painting were summarised by a Sanskrit writer, Vatsyāyana, of the third century a.d., under six categories:

1. Rūpu-bheda—the distinction of forms and appearances.

2. Pramānam—measurement, scale, and proportion.^[1]

3. Bhāva—sentiment and expression.

4. Lāvanya Yojanam—the realisation of grace or beauty.

5. Sādriçyam—likeness or resemblance.

6. Varnikabhanga—the use of materials and implements.

The references in early Pāli and Sanskrit literature to "picture-halls" (chitra-sālas) in royal palaces, and to the skill of Indian kings, and of the lords and ladies of their court, in drawing and painting,^[2] are very numerous, but no visible evidence of the works of the Indian court painters has come to light before the days of the Mogul Empire. A few rough drawings and paintings of prehistoric times have been recently discovered in the Raigarh State, Central Provinces, and in the Mirzapur district of the United Provinces.

1. This was a system as exact as the rules for the Vedic sacrificial altars. Its canons are embodied in the Silpa-Sāstrās.
2. See Indian Sculpture and Painting, by the Author, pp. 156-63.

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