Kunst aus Indien

Bibliographische Daten

Monographie

Persistenter Identifier:: AC01147494

Titel:: Kunst aus Indien

Erscheinungsort:: Wien

Herausgeber:: Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst / Gegenwartskunst, Wien

Dokumenttyp:: Monographie

Bestand:: MAK-Hauskataloge

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1960

Ausgabenbezeichnung:: [Electronic ed.]

Vorwort

Titel:: Indian Art

Dokumenttyp:: Monographie

Strukturtyp:: Vorwort

41 cism offen entering fhe bounds of mysficism. ln Rajputana schools of painfing flourished in Mewar (Udaipur), Malwar, Marwar (Jodhpur), Bikaner, Amber-Jaipur, Bundi, Kotha, and in Bun delkhand in fhe Himalayas af Bashohli, Kangra, Kulu, Jammu, efc. A similar, buf less emphaticaliy populär art developed in Bengal, Orissa (Cat. 464—466), in fhe Panjab, central India, Maharashtra, and ofher places. In fhe course of fhe nineteenth Century nearly all these styles died out, and in its place, since fhe end of fhe Century, a modern Indian arf has begun Io form, firsf imifating fhe old styles of archifecture and painfing, then imifating Gupta arf (fhe Bengal School) in a way similar to our classicism, finally turning fo modern frends. Nature and Assessment of Indian Arf If One wishes to assess Indian arf with justice one must realise fhat like any ofher form of art, Indian ort has not produced a very large number of really great masferpieces, buf can öfter a large number of fine works, a very large quantify of excellent craftsmanship and even more examples of fypical provincial Works. It is true fhal Indian wrifings on artisfic theory require thal fhe master should only creale affer long meditation and from fhe deepest inspiralion. There are such works, buf fhey can be counted. In practice it was fhe same as in Europe. Behind fhe fine words of fhe manifestos there is offen enough only routine, Work hasfily thrown together, plagiarism and callous mass produc- tion. One must also look at fhe works in fheir confext. Very many pictorial works which we study in isolation in museums once formed a subordinale part of a large Stupa or femple decorative scheme. What we see at a shorf distance by reduced light was once conceived to be looked at from a great distance in glaring sunshine; what appears to us fo be rough sfonework was once covered with fine stucco and painted. False Standards must not be applied to Indian art. Being fhe art of a fropical counfry, it was in its classic period the conscious antithesis of ancient Greek and Roman art. Indian arf will be more justly assessed by baroque Standards, whelher one lakes Pergamenic sculpture, or Bernini or Rubens. Rubens' exuberantly powerfui sensualify comes nearest to the Indian ideal of fhe human figure, while the elegance of the "Grand Siede’ corre- sponds to the Indian court style. The peak period of fhe Indian Middle Ages can best be grasped by references to Gothic arf with its calhedrals — which ol course, in contrasi with Indian art, Start from the inferior. The mediaeval Ifalians, parficularly fhe masters of Siena, form a bridge fo Rajpuf arf. On the ofher hand, we must not simply take the religious lifera- ture ol India which is known to us as a starting point; it shows only one aspect ol lite. The same princes who builf huge temples and fesfitied their reverence tor world-denying monks, lived in unbounded luxury, maintained great harems and tens of thou- sands of dancing-girls, invited great courtisans Io their courts, enjoyed theafer performances, and hunted, in the infervals be- tween the political intrigues and campaigns which kept ihem almost continually busy. The middle-class Citizen, foo, offen regarded his pious dufy as done by reserving his candidalure tor Salvation to a later lite, meanwhile enjoying the pleasure of this World and subsequently those of heaven. This was because Indian religion demands no single decision; the transmigraiion of Souls permits Salvation to be accomplished in stages; only the truly pious chose fhe shorlest road. Ancient Indian art is tilied with fhe joy of living. It has Io be seen between the poles of acceptance or rejection of lite, the lust tor sensual experience and power and their renuncialion. It is, however, as dangerous to attempt a detinition of Indian art as are all such experimenls designed to squeeze the boundless wealth of a World of culture info a single formula. All attempts so far have simply rejected decisive phases as "decadent" and allowed recognition only to "classic" periods, selecting now art of the early period, now the Gupta period, now the art of the Middle Ages. The formula of "mystical" Indian arf holds good only for the late Gupta period and the Middle Ages, and then only for religious art. It must of course be admifted that these ideas had begun to form in earlier times, and that Ihey persisted, much weakened and wholly re-cast, in the Islamic period as well. What can best be said aboul Indian art is that it reveals bound less pleasure in and love for nature and a strong but healthy sensualify. This explains its musical quality, its dancing rhythm, its sensitivily to the expression by fhe body of the finest shades of spiritual meaning. It also explains the strong religious feeling, the living mythological language. Divinity is experienced in all fhings, divine love in all experiences. Renunciafion of the worid does not grow from confempt tor the worid as such but from the realisation that even all that is most beautifui and glorious is but a feeble retlecfion of what is divine; but a retlecfion it is, and its experience bridges the way to divinity.

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