Treatises on Painting in Sanskrit and Ancient Indian Mural Paintings -Theory and Practice-

阿旃陀洞穴寺庙的壁画是典型的古印度绘画。与其他例子相比，可以肯定地说，阿旃陀壁画具有古印度壁画的共同品质。阿旃陀壁画分为早期洞穴壁画和晚期洞穴壁画。前者与后者在技术和表现方面有着明显的区别。后者可进一步分为两组，一组是16、17等窟的绘画，另一组是1、2等窟的绘画，以表现形式的区别为基础。在印度绘画史上，阿旃陀第16窟和第17窟的绘画达到了顶峰。我们可以看到画家对人物和动物形象的细致观察。同样值得注意的是，阿旃陀壁画的画家以及后期的画家都没有给环境表现留出足够的空间。另一方面，阿旃陀壁画在某种程度上与《Visnudharmottara-Purana》中的绘画论述相对应，而它包含的描述反映了更晚的时代的绘画。它的编撰时间是有争议的。尽管如此，它在某些方面对古印度绘画的研究仍然有用。

The murals of the cave temples at Ajanta are typical of the ancient Indian paintings. Compared with other examples, it is safely said that the ajanta murals have common qualities of the ancient Indian murals. The Ajanta murals consist of those in the early caves and in the late caves. The former can be sharply differentiated from the latter in respects of technique and representation. the latter can be further divided into two groups, the one formed of paintings in Caves 16, 17 and the like and the other formed of those in Caves 1, 2 and the like, on the basis of distinctions of representation. In the history of Indian painting, the culmination was attained by the paintings in caves 16 and 17 at Ajanta. We can see there the subtle observation of the painters in their human and animal figures. It is also noteworthy that the painters of the Ajanta murals as well as those of later periods did not give enough space to the environmental representation.On the other hand, the Ajanta murals correspond with the treatise on painting in the "Visnudharmottara-Purana" to some extent, whereas it contains descriptions reflecting paintings of much later times. The chronology of its compilation is controversial. Nevertheless it remains useful for studies of the ancient Indian paintings in some respects.