<p>The Buddhist cave paintings at Bagh are renowned for their heritage of art. However, unlike Ajanta, they have not received adequate scholarly attention so far. The walls and ceilings of the Bagh caves were once a repository of magnificent classical paintings. The remnants of the paintings, though extremely scanty now, are an important part of our rich art heritage. The present work, with the help of earlier artistic and photographic reproductions as well as what remains now, attempts at a complete documentation of the Buddhist cave paintings of Bagh. The work has essayed the task of identifying the paintings in detail, thus it has interpreted fully the meaning of the main panel of paintings which had once adorned the verandah of cave 4 and which has long puzzled art historians. The work also attempts at aesthetic criticism of the a paintings correlating them with the canons of Silpasastra as also the application of modern critical methods. The theoretical background of the paintings includes the basic aesthetic concepts of rupa and rasa as also pramana and laksana. These have been analysed to shed light on the artistic value of these paintings. Modern aesthetic concepts have also been utilized. The Paintings of Bagh as those of Ajanta are a valuable source of information of the social and material conditions of the times and as such have been placed in their context of ideas, ethos and material culture. The material culture of the age including the textiles and styles of garments and ornaments have been reconstructed from archaeological as well as literary sources ranging from Asvaghosa to Rajasekhara. The development of Buddhist faith and philosophy which underlie the paintings has been analysed as also the historical background of Buddhist monasteries. The work would be of interest to students and scholars of art and aesthetics</p>

The Buddhist Cave Paintings of Bagh

Arts & Photography

Anupa Pande

History & Criticism

Aryan Books International

The volume is the outcome of an effort to bring into print the proceedings of an International Seminar on The Art of Central Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent in Cross-Cultural Perspective (1st century CE-14th century CE) organized by the Department of History of Art, National Museum Institute, in March 2007. The work contains scholarly and thought-provoking papers by distinguished art-historians, historians and other leading intellectuals of the world. These scholars come from reputed universities and institutions of Asia, Europe and America. What makes the volume distinctive is not only the variety of themes that it embraces but the intimate glimpses which it provides into some of the lesser-known but otherwise important aspects of Central Asian art. The essays, twenty-eight in number, encompass diverse aspects of the art of Central Asia, and thus cover a large geographical expanse. While some of them offer a scholarly discussion of the sources of Buddhist art in Central Asia and the scribes and artists who flourished in the region, some others provide an in-depth analysis of the Buddhist art as it thrived in such important regions as Gandhara, Kucha, Kizil and Dunhuang. Again, there are papers which provide an interesting insight into the cross-cultural facets of Central Asia, connections between Buddhism and West Asia, and the monasteries and shrines that existed in the region. The study of Buddhist and Hindu iconography is the theme of some other stimulating papers. The strikingly illustrated book is a significant contribution to the field of Central Asian studies and is valuable for students and scholars alike.

The Art of Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent: In Cross Culture Perspective

Aryan Books

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Books by Anupa Pande

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Anupa Pande. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Buddhist Cave Paintings of Bagh

The Art of Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent: In Cross Culture Perspective