The Use of Blue in the Ajanta Paintings
tradeAjanta paintingslapis lazulilazuritenatural ultramarineindigoIndian art
Mercedes Tortorici | CMS 38 (2025) | Pages: 237–272DOI: https://doi.org/10.60018/AcAsVa.ptir8584
Abstract
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.
