Paintings in Gupta period is the culmination and not the renewal of a very ancient tradition. Kamajutra is a work of the Gupta period which itemise the Essentials of Paintings in the commentary of Yashodhara. These canons may be understood as a reference to standards which every painter would necessarily observe. They include the appropriate representation of private feeling or mood, ideal proportion, as well as attention to proper pose, and the preparation of colours and use of the brush.

References to Indian paintings is prevalent in literatures of all periods as early as the Maurya and it is assumed that techniques and traditions had been formulated long before the Gupta era. that The principal source for an understanding of the aesthetic of Indian painting is the Vishnudhar-mottaram, which classifies the types of painting appropriate to temples, palaces, and private dwellings, and differentiates between `true`, `lyrical`, and `secular` painting.

The Vishnudhar-mottaram mentions the impossibility of attaining a proper expression without knowledge of the art of dancing. This comment serves as an explanation to the vibrant gesture and poses that characterise the great paintings of Ajanta. Painting during the Gupta Period came to be a social achievement no longer limited to religious use but practiced by amateurs as well as professional craftsmen.

Remains of Gupta and post-Gupta wall-paintings exist at Ajanta (Caves I, II, XVI, XVII, and XIX), at Bagh, in the Gupta caves at Badami, and in a Jain sanctuary at Sittanavasal near Tanjore. Celebrated for its archaic wonder and laced with the series of carved artistry Ajanta cave paintings echo the aura of Indian creativity in perhaps the subtlest way. The paintings that adorn the walls and ceilings of the caves portray occurrences from Buddha’s life. The most paintings in Ajanta are in cave1. Cave XVII illustrates a portion of the Visvantara Jataka, in which the chief episode shows the princely hero announcing to his wife the news of his banishment from his father`s kingdom.

Among the most important surviving examples of Gupta wall-painting are the damaged fragments of decoration in the verandah of Cave IV at Bagh. In so far as one can tell from their present condition, the style is identical with the work at Ajanta. Represented are an elephant procession and what appears to be a dancing scene with beautifully rhythmic figures of young girls moving in a circle around a personage in Kushan or Iranian dress.

Hindu wall-paintings with a date corresponding to 578 decorate the porch of Cave III at Badami. The style is closely related to the later Ajanta paintings and to a cycle of Jain wall-paintings at Sittanavasal.

Thus the paintings of Gupta period mirror the influence of the Buddhist art. Besides Buddhism, a streak of Hinduism can also be traced in the wall paintings from Gupta Empire.