Famous Indian Painters – UPSC Notes – Art and Culture

Numerous renowned figures in India have played significant roles in shaping Indian Art and Culture. Among the Famous Indian Painters are Ashoka the Great, Swami Vivekananda, Eknath, and others who have made substantial contributions.

Famous Indian Painters – Chanakya

• The Architect of Kingship Chanakya stands out as a revered and widely recognized personality from ancient India.
• Serving as a royal advisor, teacher, philosopher, economist, and jurist during the Mauryan dynasty, he was also known by the names Vishnugupta and Kautilya.
• Among his notable contributions, “Arthashastra” and “Chanakya Niti” remain two of his most celebrated works.

Famous Indian Painters – Ashoka

• From 268 to 232 BCE, Ashoka, also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian ruler of the Maurya Dynasty and the son of Bindusara, who governed practically the whole Indian subcontinent.
• Ashoka encouraged Buddhism’s growth throughout ancient Asia while also elevating Buddhist architecture.

Famous Indian Painters – Samudragupta

• Samudragupta (4th Century CE) was a ruler of Ancient India’s Gupta Empire.
• He considerably enhanced his dynasty’s political authority as the son of Gupta ruler Chandragupta I and the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi.

Famous Indian Painters – Kalidasa

• Kalidasa – The Master of Romantic Plays The renowned Indian poet Mahakavi Kalidasa lived in the 5th century AD.
• He was one of the world’s best Sanskrit poets, from the Gupta dynasty. His works of literature are all masterpieces.
• Malavikagnimitra, Abhigyanashakuntalam, and Vikramorvasiyam were his three plays.

Famous Indian Painters – Shashanka

• An Eminent Supporter of Hinduism Shashanka, the inaugural monarch of ancient Bengal, is believed to have presided over the Gauda Kingdom from 600 to 625 AD, alongside contemporaries like Harshavardhana and Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa.
• Numerous ancient inscriptions provide insights into Shashanka’s rule, highlighting his devout Hinduism and strong opposition to Buddhism.

Famous Indian Painters – Harshavardhana

• Harshavardhana was a pivotal benefactor of Mahayana Buddhism Harshavardhana, a ruler of North India from 606 to 647 AD, ascended to the throne at the age of 16, displaying prowess by defeating adversaries and rescuing his sister Rajushri.
• His realm extended over a vast territory.
• Initially devoted to Shiva and Surya, Harsha later embraced Mahayana Buddhism, leading to a cessation of animal sacrifices within his kingdom.

Famous Indian Painters – Dharmapala

• A Patron of Buddhist Teachings Dharmapala (ruled in the eighth and ninth centuries) was the second emperor of the Pala Kingdom of Bengal and Bihar.
• He was the son and heir of Gopala, the Pala Dynasty’s founder.
• He considerably enlarged the empire’s borders, establishing the Palas as a powerful force in northern and eastern India.
• Dharmapala was a great follower of Buddhism, reviving the Nalanda University and founding Vikramshila University, which became a prominent learning center for Buddhism.

Famous Indian Painters – Gorakhnath

• Gorakhnath was a Hindu yogi and saint who founded the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India and Nepal in the early 11th century.
• Yogis, Gorakhnathi, Darshani, or Kanphata are the names given to these devotees.

Famous Indian Painters – Amir Khusrow

• An epitome of Classical Music Amir Khusrau (also known as Abul Hasan Yamin ud-Din Khusrau, 1253–1325 AD), was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet, and scholar who flourished under the Delhi Sultanate.
• In the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent, he is a legendary figure.
• A mystic and spiritual follower of Delhi’s Nizamuddin Auliya, Khusrow predominantly composed poetry in Persian, although he also wrote in Hindavi.

Famous Indian Painters – Rudrama Devi

• A Fearless Female Monarch Taking the helm of the Kakatiya dynasty from 1263 to 1289 (or 1295), Rudrama Devi ruled over the Deccan Plateau.
• A rarity among India’s rulers, she donned a masculine persona to command respect.
• This pivotal shift not only influenced her successor but also left a lasting impact on the later Vijayanagara Empire.

Narsinh Mehta

• Narsinh Mehta, known as Narsi Bhagat, stands as a Vaishnavite poet-saint, celebrated as the Adi Kavi of Gujarati literature.
• His life unfolded from 1414 to 1481, and among his notable compositions is the timeless Bhajan, “Vaishnav Jan To,” a favorite of Mahatma Gandhi.

Famous Indian Painters – Sant Eknath

• Eknath (1533 – 1599) emerges as a Hindu saint, philosopher, and poet from India, playing a pivotal role in the Varkari tradition.
• Devoted to the Hindu deity Krishna, Eknath is often hailed as a spiritual successor to the esteemed Marathi saints Dnyaneshwar and Namdev.

Famous Indian Painters – Ahilyabai Holkar

• Ahilyabai Holkar, a hereditary noblewoman in the Maratha Empire’s Malwa Kingdom, hailed from Jamkhed, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
• Renowned for her strategic capital relocation to Maheshwar, situated on the Narmada River south of Indore, she left an indelible mark on Indian history.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

• Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836–1886), also known as Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, was a 19th-century Bengali Hindu mystic and religious leader.
• Embracing diverse religious traditions, including devotion to Kali, Tantra, Bhakti, Vaishnava, and Advaita Vedanta, he also explored elements of Christianity and Islam.

Famous Indian Painters – Swami Vivekananda

• Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta (1863–1902), was an Indian Hindu monk and philosopher.
• A close disciple of Ramakrishna, he played a vital role in disseminating Indian darsanas of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.
• His influence drew from both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, making him a crucial figure in the late 19th-century spiritual landscape.

Abanindranath Tagore

• Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist and creator of the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’ and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He played a foundational and critically important role in the development of the Bengal school of art, paving the way for modernity in Indian painting.
• Abanindranath enjoyed the support of British administrator and principal of the Calcutta School of Art, B. Havell. Together, they criticized colonial Art Schools and the imposition of European taste on Indian art. Their vision aimed at creating a new type of painting that was not only Indian in subject matter but also in style.
• Abanindranath sought to modernize Mughal and Rajput styles to counter the influence of Western art models taught in British Raj Art Schools, developing the Bengal school of art. His success led to the acceptance and promotion of his work as a national Indian style within British colonial art institutions.
• Moving away from oil painting, Abanindranath drew inspiration from ancient murals and medieval Indian miniatures, using indigenous materials like tempera. His philosophy of a Pan-Indian art found followers, leading to the Bengal School, a nationalist art movement that spread beyond Bengal.
• Abanindranath and his followers aimed to develop an indigenous yet modern art style as a response to the call for ‘Swadeshi’, expressing Indian themes in a pictorial language distinct from Western styles like those of Raja Ravi Varma.
• In rejecting the colonial aesthetic, Abanindranath turned to Asia, particularly Japan, to propose a pan-Asian aesthetic independent of the Western one. Influenced by Japanese stalwarts like Okakura Kakuzo, the Bengal school artists learned the wash technique, innovating and modifying it to suit their needs.

Rabindranath Tagore

• Though Rabindranath Tagore started his sporadic attempts at painting in the 1920s, it was in the next decade that he appeared as a major painter in India. His poetry and prose display a continuation of Bengali and Indian traditions, but his paintings are original works of an individual who has a very high sense of imagination and fancy. They might also be related to his profound knowledge of contemporary western art.
• To promote art, he opened up his house to young artists, and started the, ‘vichitra club.’ He also created the, ‘kala Bhavan‘ at Visva Bharat University in 1919.

The Great Indian culture is an ongoing and evolving phenomenon. Numerous personalities, including Chanakya, Ashoka, Akbar, Swami Vivekananda, and many others, have played pivotal roles in shaping it into an elite and rich heritage. As custodians of this cultural legacy, it becomes our duty to uphold the values intrinsic to our culture and present them to the world. By doing so, we contribute to the preservation and promotion of the diverse and profound aspects that define the tapestry of Indian culture.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Famous Indian Painters

Q: Who is the most famous Indian painter?

Raja Ravi Varma is often regarded as the most famous Indian painter. He is known as the ‘Father of Indian Modern Art’ and was one of the first Indian artists to achieve international acclaim.

Q: Who is the national painter of India?

The term “national painter” may not be an official title, but nine prominent artists, known as the Navratnas or Nine Gems, are often considered significant contributors to Indian art. These include Raja Ravi Varma, Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Nicholas Roerich, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mukherjee, and Amrita Sher-Gil.

Q: Who is the father of Indian art?

Raja Ravi Varma is often referred to as the “father of modern Indian art.” He is renowned for his paintings and prints that beautifully depict Indian subjects using European techniques.

Q: Who is the best painter in India in 2023?

According to the Hurun India Art List 2023, Anish Kapoor held the top position for the fifth consecutive year with auction sales of ₹91 crore, making him the top artist based on sales of works at auctions for the year ending July 31, 2023.

Q: Who is the World No 1 painter?

Leonardo da Vinci is widely recognized as the most famous artist of all time. He is considered a genius and is best known for the iconic Mona Lisa painting, making him an important figure in the Renaissance era.

Q: Who is the father of painting?

Giotto is often revered as the father of European painting. He was a prominent Italian painter believed to have been a pupil of Cimabue. Giotto decorated chapels in various Italian cities with frescoes and panel paintings in tempera, leaving a lasting impact on the history of art.