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THE NEGLECTED ASPECTS OF
ART HISTORY IN INDIA (With Special Reference to Indian Miniature Painting Art)
SWARNA KAMAL BHOWMIK+
INTRODUCTION
Gujarat has witnessed all sorts of creative artistic activities and art movements since ancient times and has taken position in the forefront. The art movement that started at Gop and Vasai in Saurashtra found its fullest expression in northern Gujarat.2
The painting art-form was assiduously nurtured in Gujarat beginning with the art of book illustration. The Jain Community contributed to the growth of this art-form. The art of miniature painting of India took inspiration from the manuscript mininature paintings for their growth and development and had enjoyed full scale scholarly attention and publicity." It is well-known that the study of painting art is a very tricky affair, and copies of originals could be made if a certain degree of skill was available, and faking could be undertaken by unscrupulous forgers. In such a situation, it becomes absoultely necessary to go beyond the external appearances of the art of miniature painting while assessing and evaluating them.
EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS
Painting art is not merely a form of entertaiment, but also a way of teaching man the truth of things. Art tradition is not something that is static. Each art tradition has grown with time and has undergone many changes. This is natural that
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Former Director of Museums, Gujarat State, Vadodara, and Ex. professor of Archaeology, Gujarat Vidhyapith, Ahmedabad.
