cave-temple complex; mural; shading & highlighting techniques of Hinduka
摘要
The early Buddhist murals preserved in the cave-temple complexes and even free-standing monastic sites in South Asia and China were predominantly produced between the fifth and seventh centuries ce. Throughout these areas, the most widespread technique for creating murals was a colour-gradation method referred to as Tianzhu yifa (the Shading & Highlighting Techniques of Hinduka). Many artists used variations on this shading technique to bestow their painted forms and figures with three-dimensionality. The artist was able to achieve an effect of the relief by applying different shades of the same colours in a certain order. The shades gradually progressed from light to dark or dark to light, establishing an interplay of light shade and effectively portraying depth in the musculature of figures. The resulting images were solemn scenes of striking, full forms and resplendent colours.
