The Ramayana in Relief: Narrative Art in Ancient and Medieval India

The rich narrative traditions of Indian art in the last centuries BC largely died out, but starting in the Gupta Period (4th–6th centuries AD) new narrative traditions emerged. Ramayana subjects are among the earliest examples of this revival, and became immensely popular in both the north and south of the subcontinent. In a lecture titled The Ramayana in Relief: Narrative Art in Ancient and Medieval India, Daniel Ehnbom, associate professor of South Asian art at the University of Virginia, examines these complex developments and offers some observations on their significance to Indian art in general.