Nepali art is as old as Nepali culture despite

the fact that we can only find the sculptures

of fourth century A.D., the point of time in
Lichchhabi period. This period is considered
as the golden age of Nepali art. From the
quality of these exclusive artworks we can
deduct that Nepali art was much older than
that. Likewise, the. Our cultural rituals and
festivals integrate a number of arts as
sculpture, music, painting, performance and
installation. At the then time, art was not for
art’s sake but for life. Art had spiritual as well
as pragmatic value. We can find this trend,
for instance, in Mithila art even today.

illumination, paubha, mandala, pata

(narrative scroll painting) and wall painting.
Pagoda temple, Shikhara style temple, stupa
and monastery were the examples of
architecture.

During the Rana regime, secular themes,

realism and oil colour replaced religious
themes, symbolism and home-made colours.
Instead of gods and goddesses, the portraits
of the Rana rulers and their family members
were executed. In this period, the art of
portrait reached to its climax in the history of
Nepali art. Landscape with hunting scenes
and still life paintings were also created.
Western Neoclassical architecture influenced
the Nepali architecture.

After the fall of the Rana regime and the

establishment of democracy in Nepal in 1951
A.D., many western influences entered in the
domain of Nepali art due to the cross-flow of
people within and across the border.
Gradually, Nepali artists began to practice
the techniques of Impressionism, Fauvism,
Expressionism, Cubism, Dadaism,
Abstractionism and Surrealism. The art
shifted from Realism to Abstractionism, public
to personal, objective to subjective.  Nepali
artists began to explore their inner self rather
than representing external objects and
events.

Nepali artists are aware of their own tradition

and the novel trends in the world art. They
have learned the past and absorbed the
contemporary, now they are attempting to
unlearn the rules and formulae what they had
learned, and hearing their own inner voice,
creating their own codes and putting their own
signature in subconscious manner. Listening
to oneself and expressing in one’s own visual
language is perhaps one of the best ways of
creating art.
have learned the past and absorbed the
contemporary, now they are attempting to
unlearn the rules and formulae what they had
learned, and hearing their own inner voice,
creating their own codes and putting their own
signature in subconscious manner. Listening
to oneself and expressing in one’s own visual
language is perhaps one of the best ways of
creating art.