Art of Myanmar
[1] The Bagan period saw significant developments in many art forms from wall paintings and sculptures to stucco and wood carving.
[4] Burmese art reflects the central Buddhist elements including the mudra, Jataka tales, the pagoda, and Bodhisattva.
The three cultures, traditionally divided by differences in artistic styles, actually share many similarities and evidence of cross-cultural influences within their art.
[7] Nonetheless, contact with India brought Theravada Buddhism to the Pyu city states in the 6th century, most notably in Sri Ksetra.
Furthermore, many bronze sculptures depicted Parvati, the consort of the Hindu god Shiva, as she was regarded as an important deva in Bagan.
[11] The art of wooden sculpture also developed in this period with a few surviving pieces being incorporated into the doors of Bagan temples.
[15] After the Mongol invasions of Burma and the subsequent decline of Bagan as a cultural center led to three centuries of warfare and internal division.
[2] Bayinnaung's conquest and subjugation in 1555–1562 of Manipur, Bhamo, Zinme (Chiang Mai), Linzin (Lan Xang), and up the Taping and Shweli rivers in the direction of Yunnan brought back large numbers of skilled craftsmen into Burma.
However, Ava period paintings gave the settings local contexts like contemporary hair styles and depicted more ordinary activities like fishing.
[6] The Kingdom of Arakan established in the 15th century brought artisans from the Bengal Sultanate and had deep trade and cultural connections to South Asia.
In Buddhism, the Maravijaya pose represents Buddha calling the Earth Goddess to witness Gautama Shakyamuni's victory over Mara.
Traditional Shan art typically had a Buddha with the characteristic monk's robes, or adorned with a crown and decorated with various other mediums like putty and glass.
[25] Wall painting within temples and monasteries developed these western techniques on traditional Burmese styles, particularly utilizing cast shadows and distant haziness.
[26] The interiors of the royal court palaces and monasteries were well documented by foreign emissaries of the period who noted intricate wood carvings and the use of visual details and sumptuary laws to indicate the rank of the owner in Burmese material culture- ranging from ornamentation in dresses to "horse furniture" like drinking cups.
[27] During the Konbaung conquest of Ayutthaya, the Burmese court brought back artisans and adopted the Siamese style of glass mosiacs as a form of cultural domination.
King Bagyidaw moved the capital of the Konbaung to Amarapura in 1783 and artisans developed a unique style using wood gild with gold leaf and red lacquer.
[28] In 1853, after the loss of the First Anglo-Burmese War, Mindon Min moved the capital to nearby Mandalay with a planned city following the Buddhist Mandala.
Buddha images from the last days of the Burmese monarchy followed a style with a broad band across the forehead and tight curly hair with a prominent ushnisha.
[29] The early 19th century also saw many prints made by British officers in the country, making sketches of the countryside during their time in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826)[26] Burmese European-style painting reached its heights in the early twentieth century from the opening of many art schools and increased travel by Burmese artists to Europe.
Artists like Bagyi Aung Soe and Kin Maung painted using impressionism, cubism and experimental techniques in combination with Burmese traditional art.
[32] Approved paintings depicted the political leader Ne Win (1910 – 2002), socialism and its agrarian utopia, the purity of Burmese culture and Buddhism.
[4] One of the first to study western art was Ba Nyan, one of the pioneers of Western-style painting in the country along with Ngwe Gaing and others.
In the special issues of Taing Lone Kyaw and Myanma Alin Newspaer, all the covers were of U Sann Hlaing's paintings.
Shumawa, Ngwe Taryi, Pe Phu Hiwar, Mahaythi, Yadanarmon, Myatsumon magazines, Loke Thar, Pyi Thu Kye, Khit Myanmar, Myitmaka, Byar Deik Pan, Taya Yeik Myaing Journals, U Sann Hlaing[35] works were seen monthly and consecutively.
Aung Kyaw Htet (born 1965) is a devout Buddhist who grew up in a small village, two factors which have a strong influence on his art.
Aung Kyaw Htet paints the faces of monks and nuns in great detail to show their humanity.
In 2004, she held her first solo exhibition, "Cloud Department" in Yangon, followed in 2005 by "Self-Identity" at the Art-U Room gallery,[36] in Tokyo, Japan.
Performance art is a popular genre among young Burmese artists, including Aung Ko, Moe Satt, Mrat Lunn Htwann and Nyan Lin Htet.
In 2007, he was awarded the two-year artist-in-residency programme at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, with the support of Alliance Française de Rangoun and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
