著者

定金 計次

出版者

美学会

雑誌

美学 (ISSN:05200962)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.40, no.4, pp.47-59, 1990-03-31 (Released:2017-05-22)

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Indian painting is believed to have started developing in the post-Vedic period. On the basis of early Buddhist literature, it is certain that Buddhist monasteries began to be decorated with mural paintings in the late post-Vedic or the early Mauryan period. This is the first definite connexion between the Buddhist community and painting. We cannot, however, regard this as the true beginning of Indian Buddhist painting. For mural paintings in early Buddhist monasteries almost certainly consisted of decorative motifs which were not peculiar to Buddhism. Though we have no positive data, it seems that cloth paintings used in narrative recitation were popular in the same period. It may well be that Indian Buddhist painting came into existence in the form of such painting, which depicted Jatakas (stories of the Buddha's former births) and stories from the Buddha's life. Early Buddhist relief sculptures on railings and gateways of stupas probably presupposed these cloth paintings. Buddhist shrines had been developing since the Mauryan period. In the post-Mauryan period, Buddhist mural painting, influenced by Buddhist cloth paintings used in narrative recitation and by mural paintings of royal palaces, appeared in Buddhist stupa shrines.