1878
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Copy of painting inside the Ajanta caves is a 1878 oil by John Griffiths, a British Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting copies an old cave mural from Ajanta. It shows a Buddha scene in bright colors. The cave art dates back 2,000 years but was fading fast when copied in the 1800s. John Griffiths spent years carefully recreating the lost murals. His oil version helps preserve what time almost erased. You can still see brushstrokes that mimic the original's worn edges. Look up Griffiths, John next.
This copy by John Griffiths depicts a line of eight Buddhas positioned above the entrance to cave 17 at Ajanta, representing the six past Buddhas, the historical Buddha Śākyamuni, and the future Buddha Maitreya. The composition includes identifying trees beneath some figures, aiding in their recognition. Created between 1872 and 1885 by Griffiths and seven Indian students from the Bombay School of Art, the work is part of a series of approximately 300 copies made to document the fragile murals. White conservation patches are visible over areas of the painting requiring stabilization.
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Griffiths (29 November 1837 – 1 December 1918) was a Welsh artist who worked in India, noted for his Orientalist works.
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