Sher-Gil engages with the artists Gauguin and van Gogh in her complicated self-portrait.
Location Country: India
Paintings in the rock shelters in Bhimbetka are the oldest art of South Asia.
Bhimbetka cave paintings
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.
Raja Ravi Varma, A Galaxy of Musicians
Visitors to this temple must have marveled at the artistic skill on display and delighted in the images of familiar stories and beloved deities.
Hoysaleshvara temple, Halebidu
Vijayanagara was the largest and most effective empire in pre-colonial south Indian history.
Art and architecture of the Vijayanagara empire
The caves at Ellora are affiliated with three of India’s religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
The multireligious caves at Ellora
Gargoyles and a clock? Learn about Bombay Gothic.
F.W. Stevens with Sitaram Khanderao and Madherao ...
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.
A silk painting of sacred Buddhist images ...
This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
Humayun’s tomb
These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff
Ellora caves
The diverse objects from South Asia that fill the world’s museums and are valued as important works of art can sometimes be daunting to teach and study.
Challenges, opportunities, and approaches for studying South ...
Bodh Gaya is the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment—over millennia it has been reconstructed and reimagined.
Bodh Gaya: The Site of the Buddha’s ...
At 216 feet high, the Rajarajesvara temple is a sight to behold.
Rajarajesvara temple, Tanjavur
A lord and beasts from the third millennium B.C.E.
An Indus Seal
The many forms of Shiva at Elephanta island.
The Cave of Shiva at Elephanta
The great goddess Durga slays the buffalo demon Mahishasura in a 7th century rock-cut temple in Mamallapuram, India.
Durga Slays the Buffalo Demon at Mamallapuram
A temple with three shrines, this majestic complex faces the sea and features a rich sculptural program.
Shore Temple, Mamallapuram
This extraordinary carving is one of the largest relief sculptures in the world. Scholars still debate its meaning.
The Great Relief at Mamallapuram
A mound of dirt or the body of the Buddha? These sacred sites give practitioners insight into the Four Noble Truths.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi
This legendary complex draws thousands of visitors per day. Its bewildering spaces delight—and overwhelm—the eye.
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