Editing Thailand (section)

=== Art ===
{{Main|Thai art}}
[[File:WatPhraKeaw Ramayana Chariot.JPG|thumb|Scene from the [[Ramakien]] depicted on a mural at [[Wat Phra Kaew]]]]

The origins of Thai art were influenced by [[Buddhist art]] and by scenes from the Indian epics. Traditional Thai [[sculpture]] almost exclusively depicts [[Buddha image|images of the Buddha]], being very similar with the other styles from [[Southeast Asia]]. Traditional Thai [[painting]]s usually consist of book illustrations, and painted ornamentation of buildings such as [[palace]]s and [[temple]]s. 

Thai art was influenced by indigenous civilisations of the [[Dvaravati|Mon]] and other civilisations. By the Sukothai and Ayutthaya periods, Thai had developed into its own unique style and was later further influenced by the other Asian styles, mostly by [[Indian art|Sri Lankan]] and [[Chinese art|Chinese]]. Thai sculpture and painting, and the royal courts provided patronage, erecting temples and other religious shrines as acts of merit or to commemorate important events.<ref name="Buddhist Arts of Thailand">{{Cite web |title=Buddhist Arts of Thailand |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/budartthai2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211220801/http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/budartthai2.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2019 |access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref>

Traditional Thai paintings showed subjects in two [[dimension]]s without [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]]. The size of each element in the picture reflected its degree of importance. The primary technique of [[Composition (visual arts)|composition]] is that of apportioning areas: the main elements are isolated from each other by space transformers. This eliminated the intermediate ground, which would otherwise imply perspective. Perspective was introduced only as a result of [[Western world|Western]] influence in the mid-19th century. Monk artist [[Khrua In Khong]] is well known as the first artist to introduce [[linear perspective]] to Thai traditional art.<ref>{{Cite news |last=PCL |first=Post Publishing |title=Wat Borommaniwat |work=Bangkok Post |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/sightseeing/26933/wat-borommaniwat}}</ref>

The most frequent narrative subjects for paintings were or are: the [[Jataka]] stories, episodes from the life of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], the Buddhist [[heaven]]s and [[hell]]s, themes derived from the Thai versions of the ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', and scenes of daily life. Some of the scenes are influenced by [[Thai folklore]] instead of following strict Buddhist [[iconography]].<ref name="Buddhist Arts of Thailand" />