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.
The art of South Asia
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
Understanding geography is particularly important for the study of art of South Asia.
Geographic regions of South Asia
Why are Vishnu and Krishna blue? There are a variety of responses that can be found in the diverse literature and art of South Asia
Understanding divine “blueness” in South Asia
The caves at Ellora are affiliated with three of India’s religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
The multireligious caves at Ellora
Lord Krishna is an important figure in the Hindu pantheon who appears often in works of art and architecture.
Representations of Krishna
Gargoyles and a clock? Learn about Bombay Gothic.
F.W. Stevens with Sitaram Khanderao and Madherao ...
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
Evidence of the rise of Mahayana Buddhism in Bengal from the 7th century onwards, Somapura Mahavira, or the Great Monastery, was a renowned intellectual centre until the 12th century
Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur
Tara is the most popular female deity in Tibet.
Tara (from Tibet)
Positioned at the crossroads of Asia, Gandhara has always been an ancient transit zone—as we see in this sculpture of the Buddha
Head of the Buddha, Gandhara
Professor Julius Lipner discusses the distinctive nature of Hinduism and its sacred texts, drawing on the Vedas and epic compositions.
Sacred texts in Hinduism
A brief primer on bodhisattvas
Bodhisattvas, an introduction
The East India Company produced thousands of views that helped to consolidate its authority over much of South Asia in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Recording and representing India: the East India ...
Maithil painters use imagery from their own lives and share their personal perspectives in their artwork
Painting in Mithila, an introduction
Far from a belated version of European photography, photography in India developed rapidly and in parallel with European photographic practices.
Photographic views of nineteenth-century India, an introduction
Cloth paintings (patas) mapped the topography of sacred Jain pilgrimage sites (tirthas)
A Jain pilgrimage map of Shatrunjaya
After a violent crime in Delhi, Jas Charanjiva turned to art to confront harmful social conventions and raise awareness about the "boom" of new cultural attitudes towards women and women's safety.
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