![]() ![]() It is only when you actually look at a miniature painting in real life that you understand a.) how tiny these paintings actually are and b.) being tiny doesn’t stop them in any way from being spectacular. Impressive as these large frescoes were, Indian art traditions show that sometimes the microcosm houses entire universes, as in the case of the Indian miniature art form. Cave paintings found their artistic peak in the magnificent frescoes seen in the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra (8 th century) and the vivid ceiling-to-floor paintings of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu (11 th century). The earliest Indian art is prehistoric rock paintings discovered in Mangar Bani in Haryana, estimated to be nearly one lakh years old! Clearly humans in India have been playing with form and colour since a long time. India being the melting pot it is, has always been open to cultural influences from across the world. That’s not all: traditional Indian art forms, especially the classical schools, are quite cosmopolitan, showing influences from Greece, Central Asia, Persia and China. Another special feature of the Indian tradition is that it is unbroken and alive – artisans today still make blue and terracotta pottery like the ones found dating back thousands of years from sites like Mohenjo Daro and painters still practice the miniature art traditions that began before 1000 CE. Instead, they want to create reality in their own distinct flavour, which is what gives traditional Indian art its rich, deep variety. Traditional Indian art forms are rooted in reality – images of animals, plants, and people engaged in work or play predominate – but don’t wish to copy or mime it. Whether it be the dream-like 2-D universe of Indian miniature art or the geometric stylings of Gond and Warli paintings or the bold comic-book panels of the rare Nakashi style, Indian artistic traditions have always been ahead of the game. Here, you can select from hundreds of figures in different sizes and poses, which reveal the uniqueness of an ancient Chinese art form.Long before Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and other modern masters of Europe began to play with different perceptions of reality, traditional Indian art forms had been stylizing the real for centuries. The Academy Gate Cultural Street in Xi’An is a great place to buy shadow puppets as souvenirs. Shadow puppets look similar to paper cut-outs except that their joints are connected by thread so that they can be operated freely and make many movements. The stage for the play is a white cloth screen where the shadows of flat puppets are projected. These ancient musical instruments are said to enhance this ancient folk art. The singer may also play several musical instruments in a puppet show. This singer assumes all the roles in the puppet show, which, of course, is extremely difficult. One operates the puppets, one plays a horn, another plays a fiddle, one is in charge of percussion instruments, and the last sings. Nicknamed “the business of the five,” a shadow puppet group is usually made up of about five people. A pair of hands operates millions of soldiers. Shadow puppetry is very famous in China due to its soothing music, complex sculptures, bright colors, and lively performance. This story, recorded in an official history book, is believed to be the origin of shadow puppetry. The emperor was delighted and took to it from then on. As night fell, he invited the emperor to watch an illuminated puppet show behind a curtain. ![]() Inspired by this scene, the smart minister expanded upon this idea. The history of this ancient art is that one day, a minister happened to see children playing with dolls, and the shadows on the floor seemed to be really vivid. ![]() That’s why the Chinese name for shadow puppetry is (皮影戏 pí yǐng xì), which means “performance with shadows of leather.” Shadow puppets were first made of paper dolls and then evolved to utilize thin leather dolls. Shadow puppetry, otherwise known as Shadow Play, was very popular during the Tang and Song dynasties in many parts of China.
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