Temples as the realm of the gods, breathtaking garden tombs, and awesome stories in stone — there is much to see and learn in India.
Abanindranath Tagore’s Bharat Mata: Bengal School painting and the idea of India
Painted during the anti-colonial movement in India, Bharat Mata became an icon of the emerging Indian nation.
Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
Its ambitious structure and complex sculptural program make this temple a high point in the development of Hindu architecture.
Amrita Sher-Gil, Self-Portrait as a Tahitian
Sher-Gil engages with the artists Gauguin and van Gogh in her complicated self-portrait.
Bhimbetka cave paintings
Paintings in the rock shelters in Bhimbetka are the oldest art of South Asia.
Raja Ravi Varma, A Galaxy of Musicians
A Galaxy of Musicians, one of Ravi Varma’s most famous paintings, depicts 11 Indian women who appear to be in the midst of an elaborate musical performance.
Hoysaleshvara temple, Halebidu
Visitors to this temple must have marveled at the artistic skill on display and delighted in the images of familiar stories and beloved deities.
Art and architecture of the Vijayanagara empire
Vijayanagara was the largest and most effective empire in pre-colonial south Indian history.
The multireligious caves at Ellora
The caves at Ellora are affiliated with three of India’s religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
F.W. Stevens with Sitaram Khanderao and Madherao Janardhan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
Gargoyles and a clock? Learn about Bombay Gothic.
A silk painting of sacred Buddhist images from Dunhuang
A fragmentary silk painting tells us about Buddhist art along the Silk Roads, numerous Buddhist sacred icons, and the complex life of an object after its creation.
Humayun’s tomb
This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
Ellora caves
These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff
