The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

178 ROMANO-INDIAN ART
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almost somnolent relaxation that characterize
certain figures at Ajanta, but also we may note
the employment of the same kind of abstract
shading that is so notable a feature of the painting
of Gupta India. In the case of the Bamiyan
example this chiaroscuro consists in a thickening
of the outlines of the features and the parts
of the body with a deep orange pigment, which,
although obviously not recording any possible
effect of lighting, gives a feeling of plasticity and
roundness to the form. Both from the point of
view of drawing and the handling of the
arbitrary chiaroscuro the Bamiyan paintings
strike us as much more harsh and conventionalized
than anything found in India proper. This
quality is, of course, the result of that simplification
which always takes place with a
transplanting of a highly sophisticated and
completely developed style of art to a provincial
setting. The difference between Ajanta and
122. Bamiyan, painting of female figure
on vault of niche of 175-foot Buddha