A.K. Coomaraswamy - An Approach to Indian Art

7/21/2019 A.K. Coomaraswamy - An Approach to Indian Art

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ak-coomaraswamy-an-approach-to-indian-art 1/5

An Approach to Indian ArtAuthor(s): Ananda K. CoomaraswamySource: Parnassus, Vol. 7, No. 7 (Dec., 1935), pp. 17-20Published by: College Art Association

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/771364 .

Accessed: 22/01/2015 11:32

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Parnassus.

http://www.jstor.org

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=caa

http://www.jstor.org/stable/771364?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


http://www.jstor.org/stable/771364?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=caa



AN

APPROACH

TO

INDIAN

ART

BY

ANANDA

K.

COOMARASWAMY

PRINCIPLES

It has

often

been

emphasized

that

Asia

is

one.

This

should

be

understood

both

geographically

nd

historically.

To

enunciate

the

principles

of Indian

art

is to

enunciate

the

essentials

of artistic

expression

n

Asia,

as these

have

been preserved n an unbrokencontinuityfromthe stone

age

until

very

recent

times.

It is

less often

realized that

with

only

two

exceptions,

viz.

that of

the classical

deca-

dence

and that

of the modern

(post-mediaeval)

period,

one and

the

same view

of the nature

and

significance

f

eart has

prevailed

throughout

the world.

It is

only

because

we

ourselves

are

of and

inured to

one

of the

ir-

regular

phases

of civilization

referred

o

above,

that

what

in a

larger

view

may

be described

s

normal

to

humanity,

and

is

exemplified qually

in

mediaxval

Christian

and

in

Hindu

art,

appears

to us either

nigmatic

or

arbitrary.

In the normal

view

of

art,

defined

s the

embodiment

in

tangible

material of a

preconceived

form,

the

function

of

art is

always

practical,

the work of

art

being

ordered

either

to the

communication

f

a thesis

or to some

physi-

cally usefulend. No hard inecan be drawnbetweenthese

functions;

the fresco

nvites

us to consider

ts

thesis,

the

house to warmth and

shelter,

t the

same time

that

the

fresco s a

piece

of

furniture,

nd the house

by

its

propor-

tions

and

design appeals

to the intellect

as

well

as

to

the

shivering

flesh.

And in

fact,

a

distinction

of fine

(or

useless)

from

applied

(useful

or

decorative)

art,

and

of

the artist from the

craftsman,

as

only

been

attempted

n

those aberrant

ges

in which

genius

is

confused

with

art

and the

artist is

regarded

as

a

special

kind

of

man

dis-

tinguished

from all

others

by

his

sensibility.

To be

objectively

beautiful s

not

then the sole

or

final

end

of the

work;

it is not

merely

to

satisfy

the

greedy

eye

and

itching

ear that

humanity,

even

under

condi-

tions when the

urgent

problems

f

food

and

shelter

might

have seemed o leave no time fora consideration f higher

things,

made

common

objects

beautiful,

without

sus-

pecting

that

therecould be an

industry

without

art

such

as

we now

observe

n

civilized

communities. Art

is tra-

ditionally

of

divine

origin,

and all

the

forms

employed

in

the

making

of

anything

whatever

are

those

of intel-

lectual

prototypes,

point

of view that

survives

n

India

even

today.

The

function

of

objective

beauty

in

the

work

of

art

is

to

attract

us

to the theme

or

use

of the

object

before

us.

The

measure of

this

objective

beauty

is

that

of

the

clarity

with

which

the

artefact

makes its

communication.

Anything

s

beautiful in

its

own

way

to

the

extent

that

it

really

and

fully

is what it

purports

to

be;

a

work

of

art

is

beautiful

to the

extent

that

it

realizes

it

maker's

intention. But the

appreciation

of this

beauty

is often

difficult

n

an

unfamiliar

kind

of art

because

we are

habituated to

other

kinds of

beauty

or

are

not

interested

in

the

original

purposes

of

the

work,

to which

its

beauty

conduces.

In

other

words,

a

confusion

of

beauty

with

taste

(what

we

like

or

dislike)

arises

as

soon

as we

con-

sider

the

object

not from

the

maker'sbut

from

our

own

point

of

view.

Yet

there

can be

no

judgment

or

enjoy-

ment

(apart

from

the

comfortable

ensations

which

may

be

stimulated

by

its

physical

shape,

color,

or

sound,

etc.)

of a work

of

art,

without a

knowledge

of the

maker's

intention;

for

example,

we

cannot

say

This

is a

good

Buddha

image

unlesswe

know

what

such

an

image

ought

to

be

like,

that

is, what

Buddha-idea

ubsisted n

the

men-

tal world

of those

who made

Buddha

images

for

good

and

sufficient

easons

f

theirown,

and

not for us

to

treat

as

bric-a-brac.

Just

as the unfamiliar

beauty

may

not attract

us,

so

the language in which the unfamiliarart expounds itsthesis

may,

and to some

extent

must

be obscure

to

us.

Insofar

as the

work

is

known

to us

only

by sensation,

which

though

they

may

be

pleasant

or

unpleasant

n

them-

selves

are not

intelligible

imply

as

sensations, t is

not

understood;

to understand,

o receive

the

communication,

we must

know

how

the

shapes

and colors

which

are

the

sources

of the sense

impressions

ave been selected

and

arranged

n such

a

mannar

as to be

communicative.

We

must, in

other

words, understand

the conventions

of

the

art;

for

though

the

principle

of

language

may

be

one,

the dialects

are

necessarily

arious.

Every

school

of art has

thus

its own

conventions

nd

its own

style,

for

although

ll

mencan think

ike

thoughts

we

can

only

express

hese

deas

in our own

peculiar man-

ner; and although the fundamentalneeds of humanity

are the same,

they

are not

in all

respects

he

same,

or

may

not

be

recognized

as such because

they

are served

in

a

different

ay.

To

resume,

f

we

assume

that

in

connec-

tion with

the

exotic

art a

preliminary

uriosity

s to

be

replaced

by

pleasure

and

understanding,

wo

things

are

required:

we must

in the first

place

learn

to react

to

an

unfamiliar

beauty,

must

acquire

new

tastes,

and in

the

second must

acquire

a

new

vocabulary

of form.

Both

are

necessary

for

enjoyment,

the first

of

sensuous,

the

second

for

intellectual

satisfaction.

To be

content

with

the first

s to

rest in

aestheticism

nd

the

love

of

art ;

the

second,

as

explained

above,

is

prerequisite

or

judg-

ment,

which

is

the

perfection

of art.

In

both

re-

spects

a

certain

degree

of

facility

must

be

attained,

o

that

we may enjoy without conscious effort, nd understand

without

parsing.

So

long

as

any

sense

of

strangeness

s

felt,we remain

outsiders.

A certain

discipline

s thus

demanded.

This is

not

so

much

a

discipline

of

scholarly

application

as

it is

one

of

the

abandonment

of

prejudice.

Most

of

our

resistance

arises

n the latter

connection.

We

do

not like

to

enlarge

our

sympathies,

or

to consent

to

themes

which

we

may

have

been

accustomed

to

regard,

for

example,

as

pagan

or

immoral.

But

these

are

the

prices

to

be

paid

for

culture;

to

judge

all

things

by

an

inherited

aste

is

pre-

cisely

to

be

provincial.

We

are afraid

of

losing

ourselves,

which

is

precisely

what

is

involved

in eclecticism.

But

eclecticism,

r

sub-

jection

to

alien

influences,

s

almost the

opposite

of

what

we mean by culture; to tryto do ourselveswhat is nat-

urally

done

by

others,

to

indulge

in

a

chinoiserie,

m-

plies

a

fundamental

misunderstanding

f

the

significance

of

style,

nd

can

only

result

n

caricature.

What

is

asked

is

something

harder

than

to be

dilettante

n

this

fashion:

viz.

to

be

patient,

to

recognize

that

what

at

first

m-

presses

us

as

merely

odd

may

have

been

inevitable

and

altogether

right

in

its

own

environment,

o

respect

the

idiosyncracy

f others

no

less

than

our

own.

Most

of our

difficulties

rise

from

a

consideration

f

things

apart

from

their

context.

It

may

readily

be

granted,

for

example,

that

even

the

finest

Hindu

image

is

incongruously

elated

and in

this

sense

unlovely

on

the

drawing-room

mantelpiece.

One

who

actually

sees

its

SEVENTEEN

This content downloaded from 139.124.244.81 on Thu, 22 Jan 2015 11:32:23 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions






beauty

does not

really

see it there

on

the

mantelpiece,

but in a

mentally

reconstructed

original

environment.

What

we

require

s to restore he

context.

If

we

cannot

literally

visit

foreign

countries or

actually

consort with

long

dead

men,

we

can

do so

in the

spirit;

t is here that

the teacher

of

art

appreciation

or

the

history

of

art

can

help

us

if he

will;

all our

catalogues

and

guides

are for

this,

and

not

merely

o

rationalize our

sensitivity

to textures r

our

appreciation

f

interior-decorativeal-

ues.

The

bridges

to

be

crossed

are

not so

long

as

might

at

first

ppear.

The

general

end of art is

man,

and human

nature

tself,

which

is

in a

manner

all

things,

provides

the essential basis

for an

understanding

f all its varied

manifestations.

As to

the

objective

beauty,

there is

a

basis of

agreement

on

fundamentals,

iversitybelonging

only

to

accident;

once

we

have

realized

that

our own

idio-

syncracy

s not an absolute standardbut

merely

specific

modality,

he

very

fact of variation reminds s of a

norm

in

which all

variation

s

implicit just

as

many

effects

n-

here in a

single cause)

and in

which

all

are

one.

Tastes

may

differ,

ut

that

about

which tastes differ

remains

unaltered in human nature.

Similarly

as

regards

the

communicated

deologies;

all

of these are variants or

dia-

lects of

a

common

intellectual

nheritance,

nd

even

the

symbols mployed n communication re identicalor inter-

changeable,

s

may

be illustrated

y

a

conspicuous

xample,

that of the rose

and

lotus,

employed

alike

in Christian

and Indian

art and with the

same

significance,

hat is

with

reference

o

the

ground

of

all

being.

And thus

at

last,

those

very

differentiationshich

at

first

precluded

sympathy

ecome the means

of

mutual

understanding,

nd

being

attracted

by

the

specific

beauties

of one

another's

arts,

the

barriers

f

race and

language

are broken

down.

HISTORY

It is desirableto

supply

a

simplified

istorical

outline,

within which

individual

pieces

can

be

approximately

placed.

Everything

anterior

to

the fourth

century

B.C.

is

strictly peakingprehistoric. Culturally

there s

supposed

to

have

been a

non-Aryan

foundation,

overlaid,

perhaps

about 1500

B.C.

by immigrant

Aryan

elements.

For

the

latter we

have

no

positive

archeological

evidence.

What

we

actually

possess

s the

remains

of

the

highly

evolved

non-Aryan Indus Valley Culture of the thirdmillen-

nium

B.C.,

made

know

by

the

excavation

of

the last

fif-

teen

years.

The

aesthetic

nd

religious

onnections

f

this

culturewith that of the later ndian

cycle

of two

millen-

nia

beginning

bout

400

B.C.

is evident

enough,

but

can-

not be

demonstrated

n

detail.

The

Indus

Valley

culture

is

that

of

a

people

living

in

well

planned

cities,

with

brick

buildings

and elaborate

drainage

systems.

All the

fundamentalsof

civilization

are

already

present.

Metal

work,

mainly

n

silver,

opper,

and bronze

is far

advanced.

Sculpture

in the

round

is

represented y examples

far

more modern

n

aspect

than

might

have

been

expected.

Even more

notable

as works

of

art

are the

very

numerous

ngraved

seals and seal

im-

pressions;

a

few

types

of thesehave been found also

in

datable Mesopotamian ites, and suffice o prove at least

a

trade

relationship

etween India and Western

Asia

as

early

as the

third millennium .C. The

Indus

Valley

re-

ligion

included

a

cult

of

the

mother-goddess,

hat

of

a

prototype

of

the later

India

Siva,

and that

of

a

deity

of

vegetation;

amongst

the

symbols

employed

are

many

that

recur

n

later ndian

use,

as

well

as

in

othercultures.

Relations

with

Western Asia

were

maintained

hrough-

BOSTON

LONDON

OSAKA

CHICAGO

PEIPING

EARLY

CHINESE

ART

BRONZES

SCULPTURES

PAINTINGS

POTTERIES

YAMANAKA

COMPANY

INC.

680

FIFTH

AVE.

NEW YORK

SHANGHAI

PEKING

C. T.

LOO &

CO.

ANTIQUE

CHINESE ART

PARIS

48 RUE DE

COURCELLES

NEW

YORK

559

FIFTH

AVENUE

EIGHTEEN







out the

prehistoric

period.

Apart

from material

evi-

dences,

we

may point

out

(1)

that the

patterns

f

Vedic

( Aryan )

and Sumerian

metaphysics

re in

many

respects

the

same,

and

(2)

that

Early

Indian art

(about

200

B.C.

to 50

A.D.) preserves

formulae

and methods that

are

closely

related

to those

of

Assyrian

art

in the

seventh

and

eighth

centuriesB.C.

(these

resemblances

eing

more

conspicuous

than

those of

Early

Indian

and

Achaemenid

art).

To what extent the

correspondences

f

Indian

and westernAsiatic art

at

any

given

time

may

be

ascribed

to

borrowing,

r how far to

parallel

inheritance

annot

yet be proved; that there existed an ancient cultural

foundationcommon to both is

certain.

What has

been said above will serve to

suggest

the rich

and

varied

background

nd

heritage

gainst

and

on

which

the

expansion

of

art

in India

took

place

from the

early

centuriesB.C.

onwards.

Nevertheless

he art

of

the

later

cycle

of two millennia

may

be called

complete

and com-

prehensive

n

itself.

Whereas Vedic

doctrine had

been

metaphysical

ather than

religious,

he new art

coincides

with a

partial

transference

f

prestige

from

the

spiritual

to

the

temporalpower

and

the

corresponding

ise

of

sev-

eral

closely

connected

types

of

devotional belief.

Still

the

continuity

of

tradition in

both fields is

preserved,

inasmuch as both

religion

and art

are

rather

adaptations

of

than

contrary

o Vedic

formulation;

Hinduism remain-

ing altogether rthodox,while Buddhismand Jainism re

only

in

part

and

rather

nominally

han

essentially

etero-

dox.

There is

hardly

anything

n the

iconography

f

any

Indian

sectarian

art

that

is

not

of Vedic

origin,

or

that

can

be

understoodwithout

a reference ither

to

the

Vedic tradition

or some other

branch

of

the

universal

and

unanimous tradition.

The

dominating

necessities

f

early

Indian

art are

then

those

embodying

concept

of the first

nd

highest

prin-

ciple

in

the likeness

of

a

worshipful

deity,

and those of

the

narration of

ancient

myths

now more

literally

and

historically nterpreted

n the

interests

f edification.

The

Buddha

type

is

adapted

from that

of the

Yaksha,

once

a

designation

of the

supreme

deity

and later

of various

tutelary

divinities. This

early type

is

monumental

n the

extreme, hefigures eingoftenabove life size and no less

impressive

n

their

suggestion

f the

operation

of

a

cata-

lytic power

than

they

are

in

actual

scale.

At

the

same

time the

narrative rt with

which

the

surfaces f Buddhist

buildings

are

covered is

fascinating

n

its

clarity.

The

greater part

of this

early

art

is

more or less

primitive

in

the

laudatory

ense

of

the

word;

it is

entirely

ontrolled

by

its

themes,

nd

at the

same

time

sensuous.

This com-

bination of intellectual

and

sensuous

elements

s

charac-

teristic f Indian art

throughout

ts

expansion.

In the earlier

enturies f the

Christian

ra,

and

notably

at

Amaravati,

a

more

sophisticated

elegance

makes

its

appearance,

reminding

us of

the now more

deliberate

artistry

f the

contemporary

iterature. The

classic

phase

is reached n theGupta period (4th to 7th century). The

sculptor

and

painter

re now in full

possession

f their

rt

and able to

deal with

any

problem.

The

transubstantia-

tion

of natural

form s

achieved n a

type

of

unforgettable

serenity

n

which all conflict

f

contemplation

nd

passion

is

resolved n a

unity

of innerand outer life.

The

sculp-

tured or

painted

figure

and its

architectural

etting

are

no

longer

eparable,

ut

presuppose

ne

another.

In

the meantime

on the

North West

frontier,

Hellen-

istic influence

had

resulted n the

development

f

another

Buddha

type,

equally

Indian in

iconography,

ut Western

in

feeling,

that is

to

say

illusionistic

n

intention,

which

the

purely

Indian art

had never been.

Some traces of

this

influencecan

be

recognized

at

Amaravati,

but can

..............

I

BE

1:

aR

, ii

: :::

:iii~iiii~

SIVA

CHAM,

IX

Century

Recently acquired by

the Cleveland

Museum of

Art.

hardly

be traced in the

Gupta

and

later

schools;

on

the

otherhand it leaves a moredefinite

mpression

n Central

Asia,

where

its

earlier

incongruities

nd

flaccidities

re

reanimated

by

a local

vitality

that results

n a school

of

stucco

sculpture strangely nticipatory

f Gothic

(Maha-

yana

Buddhist and Christian

themes

being

intrinsically

similar,

his s made

conspicuous

n the

corresponding

rts,

developed

n each case fromthe same

late classical

proto-

types).

Before and

during

the

Gupta

period

orthodox

Hinduism

has

already,

ike

Buddhism,

begun

to

employ permanent

materials

for

its

architecture

nd

sculpture.

It

may

be

emphasized

in

this connection that the

sectarian

arts

in

India are

differentiated

nly by

the

details of

their

iconography,

nd not

by

their

tyle,

which is

a function f

period rather than of cult. The classical Gupta style

originates

n Northern nd Central

India,

and in its

Bud-

dhist

phases

becomes the main

source of the

Buddhist art

of Eastern

and South Eastern

Asia. At

the

same time

in

its

Hindu

phases

the

Gupta

types,

followed

by

those

of

the

slightly

ater

South

Indian Pallava

school

(7th-9th

century),

establish hose

of the

Hindu

art

of

the

Indian-

ized

kingdoms

of South

Eastern

Asia

and

notably

Cam-

bodia.

This

grafted

art

very

soon

expands

upon

its own

roots,

native

ethnic

concepts

gradually

remoulding

the

Indian

prototype,

o

that we

must

call

these

rather nde-

pendent

han

merely

olonial arts.

The

mediaeval

period

in

India

is

mainly

one

of

the

crystallization

nd

preservation

f

existing

types.

Styles

NINETEEN







become

more

ocal,

nd

there

s a concurrent

conographic

and

stylistic

laboration.The

principal

tyles

re

those

of

the

Pala

(Bengal

and

Orissa,

8th-12th

entury)

nd

Cola

(Southern

ndia,

10th-12th

entury)

chools.After

this

ime,

with

he

decline f

Buddhism,

here s no

longer

to be found

specifically

uddhist

rt,

except

f course

in

Ceylon

nd

SouthEastern

Asia,

and

in

Nepal;

in the

latter rea

the

vitality

nd

elegance

f

the

arlier

uddhist

and

Hindu art survivewell

into

the

fifteenth

entury.

Painting

s

represented

y

at

least hree

mportant

chools:

Western

ndian,

epresentedainly

n

Jaina

Mss.

rangingfrom he tenth o the seventeenthentury; heBengali-

Nepalese, epresented

ainly

n BuddhistMss. f ike

date;

and the

Rajput,

xecuted n

walls

or

paper, anging

rom

the

sixteenth o

the

early

nineteenth

entury,

nd

con-

cerned

ntirely

ithHindu

subjects, mongst

which

he

illustrationsf

the

Krishna

ycle

and

of

the

musical

modes

lay

the most

conspicuous arts.

This is the ast

of

the

great

tyles.

Muhammadan

onquestsgradually

xtended

hrough

northernndia from

he twelfth

entury

nwards

esulted

in the

development

f other orms f

art,

mainly

n

sculp-

ture

and

painting,

with

a combined

oreign

nd native

basis.

The

Mughal

school

of

painting

16th-18th

en-

tury)

is

closely

elated o

the

Rajput,

but secular nd

historicaln its nterests,ndstylisticallyclectic, niting

Persian,ndian,

nd

European

lements.

It

may

be said

in

summary

hat

the

Indian

cycle

of

two

millennia

mbraces

stylistic equence

hat

passes

normally

rom

primitive

hrough

classic

to

baroque

styles.

As

in

other

ycles

he

sequence

s

one of decline

rather han f

progress,lthough

he

quality

f

primitive

vitality

ecurs

t

various

moments,

otably

n

earlyRaj-

put

paintings.

In

one

important

respect,

however,

the

Indian

cycle

differs

radically

from

the

European.

In

Europe,

the

fundamental

rinciples

f

the fifth

o

twelfth

centuries

re

abandoned and an

altogether

new

direction

pursued;

thereafter he

properly

ymbolic language

and

ideal references

f

Christian art are

gradually

obscured

by

statements

f

observed fact and the intrusionof

the

artist's

personality.

Nothing

of

this

sort

happened

or

could

have

happened

n Hindu

India;

by

decadence in

India

one

means,

not

an

abandonment f

orthodox

radition

and of

ascertained

methods,

but a

relatively

nfirm

on-

templation

that

inevitably

finds

expression

n a lessened

energy

of

operation;

there

is

a

loss of

animation.

The

formal virtues of Indian art survive at the

presentday

in

folk

art

and to some extent

n

the hieratic and

conserva-

tive tradition

f

the

south.

It is

only

in

Mughal painting

that

any

real

kinship

with the

spirit

f

the

European

Ren-

aissance can be

recognized,

n that both

are

animated

by

a

curiosity

bout

appearances

nd an interest

n

personality.

RECOMMENDED

READING

Coomaraswamy,

A.

K.,

Rajput

Painting,

Oxford,

1917.

Coomaraswamry,

.

K.,

History

of

Indian and

Indonesian

Art,

New

York,

1927.

Coomaraswamy,

A.

K.,

The

Transformation

f

Nature

in

Art,

2nd.

ed.,

Cambridge,

1935.

Coomaraswamy,A. K., Understanding he Art of In-

dia,

Parnassus,

April,

1934.

Kramrisch, .,

Indian

Sculpture,

Oxford and

Calcutta,

1933.

Takics,

Z.,

The

Art

of

Greater

Asia,

Francis

Hopp

Museum,

Budapest,

1933.

Zimmer, H.,

Kunstform

und

Yoga

im

indischen

Kult-

bild, Berlin,

1926.

LOAN

EXHIBITION

OF

EARLYNDIAN

SCULPTURES

PAINTINGS

and

BRONZES

onview hroughecember

HEERAMANECK ALLERIES

724

Fifth

Avenue,

New

York

Rare

Specimens

of

Chinese

Antique

Works fArt

t

TON-YING

&

CO.

5

East

57th

Street

NEW

YORK

CITY

PARIS

CHINA

TWENTY





Documents

A.K. Coomaraswamy - An Approach to Indian Art