Page 10 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PAINTING 7

period, the Sunga plaques show over-ornamentation. For instance, the Sunga artist
tried to express the beauty of woman through ornaments, hair arrangements, etc.,
whereas the Gupta artist placed more emphasis on the depiction of physical structure,
movement and expression instead of external ornamentation.
Therefore, although particulars about the common pictorial media cannot be found
from the pre-Pala age the above mentioned plaques provide us with an approximation
about the nature of the unknown paintings. In this context it needs to be mentioned
that traditional Indian art was primarily ‘cooperative art’ which means that art works
were constructed through collective labor. As a result, in paintings, sculptures,
architectural constructions and other auxiliary artistic production an intimate relation
was present between the artists involved and in many cases the same artist is
considered to have been involved in various media. Therefore, it can be supposed that,
some of the artists of the above mentioned terracotta plaques that have been found in
Bengal were at the same time the artists of the other common pictorial media.
The Pala Style
The history of Bengal’s art of painting was inaugurated in the Pala period. The fig. 1.3 Pala manuscript
painting after Arts of
Buddhist miniatures drawn on palm leaf manuscripts and their wooden covers in this India 1550-1900,
period are excellent specimens of this art of painting. Most of the illustrated Victoria, and Albert
manuscripts of the Pala age were copies of the book Ashtashahasrika Prajnaparamita Museum, 1990