Ever wonder who actually put the first brushstroke on Indian soil? The question feels simple, but the answer dives deep into caves, ancient inscriptions, and centuries‑old texts. In this article we’ll untangle the myth, look at the oldest surviving works, and meet the first Indian artist whose name survived the ages.

What "first Indian artist" really means

Before we name anyone, it’s worth defining the term. First Indian artist is used here to refer to the earliest individual whose name is attached to a work of visual art that can be historically dated within the Indian subcontinent.

That definition excludes anonymous prehistoric creators-like those behind the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters-because we simply don’t know their identities. It also leaves out collective groups such as the monastic painters of the Ajanta Caves, whose masterpieces are legendary but unsigned.

Prehistoric beginnings: Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

The story of Indian visual culture starts around 10,000BCE at Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in central India. The red‑ochre handprints, hunting scenes, and dancing figures reveal a sophisticated visual language long before organized kingdoms.

• Date: Approximately 10,000-2000BCE
• Medium: Natural pigments on sandstone
• Known artists: None - the creators remain anonymous

Historic masterpieces: Ajanta Caves

Fast‑forward to the 2nd‑centuryBCE‑5th‑centuryCE, when Buddhist monks commissioned the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra. The caves house vibrant frescoes that depict Jataka tales, court life, and lyrical landscapes.

These murals were executed by skilled monastic painters who followed the guidelines of the Shilpa Shastra, an ancient treatise on art, architecture, and iconography. While the treatise mentions roles like chitrakara (painter) and even gives a handful of ideal qualities, it never records individual names for the Ajanta workshops.

• Date: 2ndcenturyBCE-5thcenturyCE
• Medium: Water‑based pigments on dry plaster (dry fresco)
• Known artists: Anonymous monastic crews

The earliest named painter: Brihaspati of the Gupta Empire

Historical records start to give us a name during the Gupta period (4th‑6thcenturyCE). An epigraph discovered in the Bagh Caves of Madhya Pradesh bears the signature:

"This wall was painted by Brihaspati, son of the famed chitrakara Mahendra."

Scholars date the inscription to around 475CE, making Brihaspati the earliest Indian artist whose personal name survives in a verifiable context. The Bagh Caves murals depict scenes from the life of the Buddha, rendered in the luminous palette that later defined Gupta aesthetics.

• Period: Late Gupta (c.475CE)
• Medium: Tempera on limestone walls
• Known works: Wall paintings in the Bagh Caves (PaletteII)

Because the signature is carved in stone rather than painted, it survives intact, giving modern researchers a concrete anchor point for the emergence of signed Indian art.

How scholars identify early Indian artists

Three main sources help us move from anonymous to named creators:

1. Inscriptions: Stone or metal captions that record a patron’s name, the artist’s name, and sometimes the workshop.
2. Literary mentions: Texts like the Shilpa Shastra list ideal qualities of a painter and occasionally name exemplary masters (e.g., Vishnu Gupta of the 6th century).
3. Stylistic analysis: By comparing brushwork, pigment choice, and composition, experts can attribute a series of works to a single hand, even if the name is missing.

For the Gupta period, the combination of an inscription and stylistic continuity makes Brihaspati a verifiable figure-unlike the anonymous crews at Ajanta.

Legacy: From Brihaspati to later Indian art traditions

Once an artist’s name entered the historical record, a lineage of attribution began. The Gupta aesthetic championed by Brihaspati influenced the pala schools of Bengal, the ornamented murals of the Chola temples, and eventually the miniature paintings of the Mughal courts.

Even centuries later, Persian chronicles mention Indian painters who traveled to Persia, demonstrating that an Indian name attached to a work was a mark of prestige. This tradition of signing works persisted in the Rajasthani and Deccani schools, where artists began to sign their miniatures on the back of the page.

Quick reference: Early Indian Art at a glance

Take‑away checklist

• Prehistoric cave art (Bhimbetka) is the oldest visual expression, but the creators are unknown.
• The Ajanta Caves showcase the first large‑scale narrative murals; the painters remain anonymous.
• The earliest Indian artist with a recorded name is Brihaspati, a Gupta‑period painter who signed the Bagh Caves wall paintings around 475CE.
• Inscriptions, literary treatises like the Shilpa Shastra, and stylistic analysis are the three pillars for identifying early Indian artists.
• Brihaspati’s signature set a precedent that echoed through later Indian art traditions, from Pala murals to Mughal miniatures.