B U D D H I S T M U R A L S ( W A L L P A I N T I N G )
The painting in the Ajanta Caves, India, may be the earliest wall paintings known in the Buddhist tradition. We can assume that natural pigments and colors from insects, flowers, and dyes were used in the Ajanta caves between the 2nd and 5th Century.
The next major Buddhist wall paintings may be in far western China in the Dunhuang Caves, from the 5th-14th Century. In Tibet, the best preserved mural and wall paintings are in Ladakh, which has a high, dry desert climate. Many mountainous monasteries have surviving murals of Buddhist painting, but the murals that requires the most repair are the ones that receive monsoon rains coming from the south.
Contemporary Buddhist murals, since 1960 would be painted with acrylics, which cannot be dissolved by moisture. For example, the Stupa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a good example of modern Buddhist wall painting.
