The only Sri Lanka paintings that really passed to posterity are those of the famous Sigiriya rock dated to the fifth century CE depicting celestial apsaras. However, the island has a long tradition of painting the vāhalkaḍas (frontispieces) and relic chambers of the stūpas and the murals of image houses, which date back to the second century CE. It is at the beginning of the 18th century, at the height of the Kandyan period, during the reign of Narendrasimha that a new era of pictorial art began. King Kirti sri Rajasimha (1751-1781) was the instigator and mastermind of this artistic renaissance in the kingdom of Kandy. Thus was born a Kandyan style with its characteristics, its conventions, its themes and its technique. Sri Lankan artists of the Kandyan period followed the Pāli tradition, very particularly the narrations in the Nidānakathā when depicting the life story of the Buddha Gautama. For this reason, the artistic program of the Kandyan period is characterized by its uniqueness in the choice of events related to the life of Buddha compared to other Indian art schools mainly, Gandhāra and Mathurā strongly inspired by the Sanskrit tradition. For example, in all Kandyan period paintings it is this Pāli tradition which is faithfully respected when depicting the great departure, the assault of Māra and above all the seven weeks after the Buddha’s Enlightenment. This presentation therefore highlights the exclusivity of the narratives of the Kandyan period murals.
The life story of Gautama Buddha adorning the Kandyan period murals in Sri Lanka
The only Sri Lanka paintings that really passed to posterity are those of the famous Sigiriya rock dated to the fifth century CE depicting celestial apsaras. However, the island has a long tradition of painting the vāhalkaḍas (frontispieces) and relic chambers of the stūpas and the murals of image houses, which date back to the second century CE. It is at the beginning of the 18th century, at the height of the Kandyan period, during the reign of Narendrasimha that a new era of pictorial art began. King Kirti sri Rajasimha (1751-1781) was the instigator and mastermind of this artistic renaissance in the kingdom of Kandy. Thus was born a Kandyan style with its characteristics, its conventions, its themes and its technique. Sri Lankan artists of the Kandyan period followed the Pāli tradition, very particularly the narrations in the Nidānakathā when depicting the life story of the Buddha Gautama. For this reason, the artistic program of the Kandyan period is characterized by its uniqueness in the choice of events related to the life of Buddha compared to other Indian art schools mainly, Gandhāra and Mathurā strongly inspired by the Sanskrit tradition. For example, in all Kandyan period paintings it is this Pāli tradition which is faithfully respected when depicting the great departure, the assault of Māra and above all the seven weeks after the Buddha’s Enlightenment. This presentation therefore highlights the exclusivity of the narratives of the Kandyan period murals.
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