The Use of Blue in the Ajanta Paintings

Bibliographic Data

ID7544328
AuthorsMercedes Tortorici (corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume38
Issue2025
Pages237-272
Publication date2025-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Asiatica Varsoviensia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0860-6102 • E-ISSN: 2449-8653
PublisherDepartment of AAV and Hemispheres, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, PAS (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.60018/acasva.ptir8584
OpenAlexW7119689465
LanguageEN
References cited22

Blue pigments, scarcer and more expensive than many other colours in antiquity, have played an important role in global art history. In this research, I examine how the colour blue, confirmed to be lapis lazuli, was used in the wall paintings of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta. Blue is completely absent in the paintings of the 1st century BCE. Among the paintings of the 5th century CE, it was sparingly used for small details in the centrally located caves (Caves XVI and XVII), while applied in larger amounts in the peripheral caves of Ajanta (Caves I, II and XXVI). In order to explain the sudden appearance of lapis lazuli in the Ajanta paintings, historical aspects, such as trade routes and political change, are also considered in this paper

Buddhism · Cave · Cave painting · Painting · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access