Sculpture and Buddhism
Buddha is without doubt the most represented figure in Sri Lankan art. North of Kandy, the Dambulla Rock Temple, a major pilgrimage site for over twenty centuries, is dominated by a gigantic golden Buddha. More than 150 images of Buddha and some Hindu deities awaken the visitor to the precepts of Buddhism. The murals, in an excellent state of conservation, cover more than 2,000 square meters. The monastery houses 18th century masterpieces of the Kandy school.
Archaeological excavations have been revealing the remains of Sri Lanka for over a century. Buddhist sites within the "cultural triangle" receive special attention. The sites ofAnuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy, signified by the stupas, contain relics of Buddha.
Among the seven statues that make up the monumental Buduruwagala complex, whose construction began in the ninth century, the largest sculpted standing Buddha in Sri Lanka emerges from a rock face some twenty meters high. At its feet, a liquid with a pungent odor oozes from a flame-shaped cavity. This phenomenon remains unexplained to this day. The creation of the site, a place of hermitage, corresponds to the last period of the kingdom of Anuradhapura. Buddha is accompanied by bas-reliefs, which are part of the Mahayana school. Although short-lived, this school of thought was very successful on the island.
In the field of sculpture, one of the most beautiful examples can be found on the site of Polonnaruwa. It is the Gal Vihara (Uttararama), which is a group of four Buddhas dating from the 12th century. All are of exceptional beauty but the most remarkable is probably the Buddha represented lying down which measures 14 meters in length. As a rule, the ancient sculptures were made of limestone. However, there are sculptures in jade, rock crystal, marble, rose quartz or ivory.
Paint
In ancient times, wall painting probably surpassed the art of sculpture. The most beautiful examples are found in Sigiriya (5th century), Polonnaruwa (12th century), Dambulla and Kandy (17th century). At Sigiriya, capital of King Kassapa in the5th century, one must climb the hill to discover extremely well preserved under-rock frescoes. The Cave of the Damsels represents ladies of the Court. The semi-nudity of the female figures, smiling and adorned with jewels, seems to correspond to a custom of the time, rather than to a desire for eroticism. These ladies are accompanied by slightly better dressed servants. There is no explanatory text concerning these representations. But technically, these murals were painted in superimposed layers, on a coating of straw and sand. The method is similar to the fresco-lustro of the Rajasthani tradition from India.
The frescoes which correspond to the Kingdom of Kandy (from 1469 to 1815) testify to a time when the kings gave a major place to the arts. Before that, the Kingdom of Anuradhapura (-377 to 1017) saw the birth of Buddhism from -250. The monks then tried to organize an educational system based on Buddhism. For this purpose, they proposed to illustrate the Jātaka tales on the walls of the temples. These works originating from India evoke the origins of Gautama Buddha, both human and animal. In these stories, Buddha takes on the appearance of an elephant, a god or a king. The message remains unchanged: the supreme being always shows virtue and sets an example. It is in this context that the frescoes of the Kingdom of Kandy were created. On the walls with perfect smoothness, the images are read in zigzag. A transitional motif (tree, river, house) separates each scene, with flowers filling the empty spaces. The characters are shown in profile or face on a dark red background.
Modernism
The painting format only appeared in the 19th century. First adopted by foreign English and Dutch artists, it was later taken up by Sri Lankan artists. The Dutch heritage can now be appreciated at the Dutch Museum in Colombo. However, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that one name really came to the fore: that of George Keyt. Through his landscape art and his representation of figures, directly inspired by cubism and artists such as Henri Matisse or Picasso, George Keyt (1901-1993) modified the perception of painting, bringing about great changes. For many, modern Sri Lankan art really began with him.
Born in Kandy, Keyt was a self-taught artist marked by the spirituality that permeates his birthplace. His pictorial style blends the Buddhist tradition (the Jātaka tales in particular), Indian decorative art and modern European art. But he is also a poet, and as such, he finds in Buddhist philosophy material to reject the Western values in which he has been immersed since his childhood. He turned to painting at the age of 26, in 1927, and became interested in Cubism. He copied Matisse, Braque, Léger and Picasso in the Cahiers d'Art magazines brought back by Lionel Wendt, leader of the Group 43. Very quickly, his art is located at the crossroads of the frescos of local tradition and modernism. He was one of the founding members of the circle of independent Sri Lankan artists, Group 43. His works have entered the main private and public collections of the country, including the Colombo National Museum, or National Museum of Sri Lanka, the largest museum on the island.
Group 43
In the 1940s, the 43 Group movement was born (in reference to its creation date). This group was not distinguished by a common style. It was decisive in the history of art in Sri Lanka, because it unified a non-academic art scene and popularized another form of art, far from a certain English puritanism. As such, it is often compared to the Salon des Indépendants held in Paris every year since 1884, which brings together all artists claiming a certain form of independence. Among its most prestigious members, we can mention the photographer Lionel Wendt (1900-1944), Justin Daraniyagala (1903-1967) or the painter Harry Pieris (1904-1988). All three left to study in Europe in the 1920s.
The role played by Charles Freegrove Winzer (1886-1940), an English painter who arrived in Sri Lanka in 1921, should not be overlooked. As a cultural attaché, he founded the Ceylon Art Club in 1922, which organized exhibitions. The future members of Group 43 all showed their work through this organization. Winzer and Wendt share the same respect for Sri Lankan culture. Lionel Wendt, a pianist and photographer, is a cultured man, who multiplies artistic experiments. This is how he became the leader of Group 43, officially created on August 29, 1943 in Colombo around twelve personalities: Lionel Wendt, W.J.G. Beling, Aubrey Collette, Ralph Claessen, Richard Gabriel, S.R. Kanakasabai, George Keyt, Manjusri Thero, Ivan Peries and Justin Daraniyagala.
Born in Colombo, Justin Pieris Daraniyagala (1903-1967) left to study in Paris in 1928. He rubbed shoulders with the artistic avant-garde and, upon his return to Sri Lanka in 1929, helped bring the innovations of modern European trends to the island.
The Group 43 exhibited in London in 1952, then in Paris at the Petit Palais. Due to the political tensions of the 1960s, several members left Sri Lanka, and the group was dissolved after a final exhibition in 1967. Their works can be found at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka. The institution articulates its exhibitions in such a way as to provoke encounters between the artists of yesterday and today.
Contemporary art
After the dissolution of Group 43, the "90's tendency" brings together artists who break with modernist pictorial art. Instead of painting, they prefer contemporary means of expression such as performance and video art to question social changes. Socio-political issues and tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese are recurring themes. The body, elevated to the status of a symbol, is staged in the performances.
Theertha collective was formed in 2001 around Jagath Weerasinghe, a veteran of the 1990s movement. He is one of the most influential contemporary artists in Sri Lanka and a major player in the Colombo Biennale. His work reflects the key moments of his life during the civil war, as well as afterwards. In his famous black paintings, he expresses his views on the war and its devastation. Later, Weerasinghe takes a romantic turn, more rooted in emotions. He participated in the Theertha Performance Platform, a festival dedicated to performance art. On this occasion, 50 artists from all over the world perform in public places in order to reach a large audience.
Indeed, the current scene suffers from elitism. Governmental funds are non-existent, so culture is at two speeds. Two galleries hold the reins of the local market: Barefoot Gallery and the Saskia Fernando Gallery, focused on Sri Lankan contemporary art. Art is also supported by foreign institutions such as the British Council and the Goethe Institute. Two events to know: the biennial contemporary art festival Colomboscope, founded in 2013, and the Colombo Art Biennale.
The artist to watch: Sujeewa Kumari expresses her point of view as a woman, mixing historical traces, tradition and realities of daily life in Sri Lanka.
In Mirissa, a surfer's paradise, the murals contribute to the relaxed atmosphere. A surfer catches the wave on the facade of a hotel, giant footprints are spread on the parapets, a jellyfish wanders along a sidewalk. The famous peacock of the Palm Villa Peacok, painted by Bozik, spreads its colors on the main avenue. You can't miss it when you go for a swim!
