Art :South Asia

South Asian art originates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Maldives and other surrounding areas and diasporic communities. Presenting a mosaic of rich traditions, diverse cultures and vibrant arts, it is most famous for its Gandhara sculptures, Jain Temple stone carvings, Mughal miniature paintings and contemporary works by emerging South Asian artists around the World.

The Indian subcontinent, known today as South Asia, extends as an inverted triangle from the snowbound Himalayan ranges toward the equator and includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Extending some eighteen hundred miles from north to south, and almost the same distance from east to west, the area is home to an ancient and varied group of cultures.

Although ancient literature confirms that wall paintings were a routine part of the decoration of monuments in early India, only fragments remain that date from the first century onward. Illustrated manuscripts on the long, narrow leaves of the palmyra palm survive from the eleventh century, and when paper was introduced a century later, artists retained the horizontal format of the palm leaf.

When the Mughal emperors—Muslim Turks from Central Asia—came to power in 1526, they introduced the vertical page format of the Persian world. Court artists during the reign of Emperor Akbar (ruled 1556–1605) adapted elements from indigenous Indian as well as Persian and European art to create a superb and unique style of painting. Mughal court portraiture combined the naturalistic rendering of individual physiognomies with symbols of rank and status. The portraits were mounted with elaborate borders and bound into imperial albums or given as gifts to cement political alliances. Other important subjects of Mughal painting include dynastic histories, Persian literature, and Hindu epics.

When the British supplanted the Mughals as rulers of India, from the mid-eighteenth century onward, a new style known as Company painting (from the English East India Company) came into existence. Local artists adapted their manner to produce the type of accurate documentation of the world around them demanded by their new patrons. Today artists working in a multiplicity of media have found a new idiom that instills a sense of quality and confidence while invoking the strength and dignity of the past.