PAINTINGS OF BENGAL - A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

Before getting introduced to art and artistes, pictures and paintings of Calcutta, it is essential for one to have a clear idea about the art of Bengal in general. Incidentally, it deserves mention that the oldest specimens of paintings found in Bengal till date are the twelve coloured paintings found in the manuscripts of 'Ashta Sahasrika - Pragna Paramita'. These were found in Nalanda during the reign of king Mahipaldev I, the illustrious monarch of the Pala dynasty. The manuscript containing the pictures was made of palm leaves. It is assumed that these pictures belonged to 983 A.D. This invaluable manuscript is preserved in the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Two similar manuscripts with drawings have also been found. These belonged to the same era. In the following two centuries, several manuscripts containing exquisite pictures have been traced out. These works are so capacetic that they do not seem to be the infantile work of art of the Bengali artiste. These pictures clearly indicate that there was a rich cultural heritage and a store house of artistic experience behind them. It is our sheer misfortune that no piece of art belonging to the pre-Pala dynasty has been found out till date.

In the second half of the eleventh century, most of Bengal came under the sway of the Sen and Burman Kings from the 'Pala' rulers who were followers of the cult of Brahminism. The Pala rulers were tolerant and sympathetic to other religions. Hence no restriction was imposed during their regime to construct Hindu temples or practise idolatry. But the 'Sen' and 'Burman' rulers were ardent patrons of Hinduism. The followers of Buddhism were persecuted during their regime. As a natural consequence, the art and culture which flourished during the Pala era, started to deteriorate. In course of time the Turks who were followers of Islam, invaded and conquered Nabadweep. Their leader was the fierce Bakhtiyar Khaljee. Neither the Buddhists nor the Hindus could escape the vandalism of the barbarous Turks.
They destroyed several artefacts and objects of art of the Hindus and Buddhists and demolished their temples and abbeys at random. Then these vandals constructed mosques with the relics of the temples on those very sites.

From the middle of the 14th century the Sultanate of Bengal was influenced by an element of novity. From the time of Ilias Shah, the Bengal Sultans showed a remarkable change in their attitude. In spite of being ardent followers of Islam, they took utmost care of the art and culture of Sri Chaitanya Dev. As a result, the then art and culture of Bengal revealed conspicuously the North Indian 'Sultani' gharana and also preserved the traditional art of Bengal. The fusion was magnificent.