INDIAN ART

FORMS
BY VINEETA SAHU
BBA 5 C
TANJORE ART
 ORIGIN OF TANJORE ART
• Thanjavur painting is a classical South Indian painting style, which was inaugurated from the
town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore).
• The art form draws its immediate resources and inspiration from way back about 1600 AD, a
period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur under the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara Rayas
encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu and
Tamil and painting of chiefly Hindu religious subjects in temples.
• It is distinguished by its famous gold coating. However, it can safely be surmised that Thanjavur
painting, as we know it now, originated in the Maratha court of Thanjavur (1676–1855).[1] It has
been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2007-08.
 ABOUT TANJORE ART
• Thanjavur paintings are characterised by rich and vivid colors, simple iconic composition,
glittering gold foils overlaid on delicate but extensive gesso work and inlay of glass beads and
pieces or very rarely precious and semi-precious gems.
• In Thanjavur paintings one can see the influence of Deccani, Vijayanagar, Maratha and even
European or Company styles of painting.
• Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods,
goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu Puranas, Sthala-puranas and other religious texts
were visualised, sketched or traced and painted with the main figure or figures placed in the
central section of the picture (mostly within an architecturally delineated space such as a
mantapa or prabhavali) surrounded by several subsidiary figures, themes and subjects.
• There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects
were depicted in Tanjore paintings.
MADHUBANI PAINTING
 ORIGIN OF MADHUBANI PAINITING
• Madhubani Art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region
of the Indian subcontinent.
• This painting is done with a variety of tools, including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and
matchsticks and using natural dyes and pigments.
• It is characterised by its eye-catching geometrical patterns. There is ritual content for particular
occasions, such as birth or marriage, and festivals, such as Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja,
Upanayana, and Durga Puja.
• Madhubani painting (Mithila painting) was traditionally created by the women of various
communities in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. It originated from Madhubani
district of the Mithila region of Bihar.
 ABOUT MADHUBANI ART
• The paintings were traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts, but now
they are also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas.
• Madhubani paintings are made from the paste of powdered rice. Madhubani painting has remained
confined to a compact geographical area and the skills have been passed on through centuries, the
content and the style have largely remained the same.
• Thus, Madhubani painting has received GI (Geographical Indication) status. Madhubani paintings
use two-dimensional imagery, and the colors used are derived from plants.
• Ochre, Lampblack and Red are used for reddish-brown and black, respectively.[citation needed]
• Madhubani paintings mostly depict people and their association with nature and scenes and deities
from the ancient epics. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are
also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings.
WARLI FORK
PAINTING
 ORIGIN OF WARLI FOLK PAINTINGS
• Warli painting is a form of tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri
Range in Maharashtra, India.
• This range encompasses cities such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and
Vikramgad of Palghar district.
• This tribal art was originated in Maharashtra, where it is still practiced today.
• The Warli tribe is one of the largest in India, located outside of Mumbai. Despite being close to
one of the largest cities in India, the Warli reject much of contemporary culture.
• The style of Warli painting was not recognised until the 1970s, even though the tribal style of art
is thought to date back as early as 10th century A.D.[1] The Warli culture is centered on the
concept of Mother Nature and elements of nature are often focal points depicted in Warli
painting.
 ABOUT WARLI FOLK PAINTING
• These rudimentary wall paintings use a set of basic geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, and a square. These
shapes are symbolic of different elements of nature. The circle and the triangle come from their observation of
nature. The circle represents the sun and the moon, while the triangle depicts mountains and conical trees. In
contrast, the square renders to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. The
central motif in each ritual painting is the square, known as the "chauk" or "chaukat", mostly of two types
known as Devchauk and Lagnachauk. Inside a Devchauk is usually a depiction of Palaghata, the mother
goddess, symbolizing fertility.
• Male gods are unusual among the Warli and are frequently related to spirits which have taken human shape.
The central motif in the ritual painting is surrounded by scenes portraying hunting, fishing, and farming, and
trees and animals. Festivals and dances are common scenes depicted in the ritual paintings. People and animals
are represented by two inverse triangles joined at their tips: the upper triangle depicts the torso and the lower
triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. The representation
also has the practical and amusing advantage of animating the bodies. Another main theme of Warli art is the
denotation of a triangle that is larger at the top, representing a man; and a triangle which is wider at the bottom,
representing a woman.[4][better source needed] Apart from ritualistic paintings, other Warli paintings covered
day-to-day activities of the village people.
PATTACHITRA
PAINTING
 ORIGIN OF PATTACHITTRA PAINTING
• he paintings of Odisha can be divided into three categories from the point of view of medium, i.e.
paintings on cloth or 'Patta Chitra', paintings on walls or 'Bhitti Chitra' and palm leaf engravings or
"Tala Patra Chitra' or "Pothi, Chitra'. The style of all these remains more or less the same at a
specific time because the then artists were commissioned to work in all these media, it is believed.
• The painting the 'pattachitra' resemble the old murals of Odisha especially religious centres of Puri,
Konark and Bhubaneshwar region, dating back to the 5th century BC. The best work is found in and
around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur.
• This old tradition of Odia painting still survives in the places like Puri, Raghurajpur,
Paralakhemundi, Chikiti and Sonepur. Lord Jagannath in the present from is being taken as the
origin of the Patta style. The colour schemes of the deities of Puri are quite similar to those of the
Patta style. The oldest record of Patta Paintings does not probably go beyond the establishment of
the present shrine of Shri Jagannath at Puri.
 ABOUT PATTACHITRA PAINTINGS
• The theme of Odia painting centres round the Jagannath and the Vaishnava sect. Since beginning
of Pattachitra culture, Lord Jagannath who was an incarnation of Lord Krishna has been the
major source of inspiration. The subject matter of Patta Chitra is mostly mythological, religious
stories and folk lore. Themes are chiefly on Lord Jagannath and Radha-Krishna, different
"Vesas" of Shri Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, temple activities, the ten incarnations of
Vishnu basing on the 'Gita Govinda' of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Navagunjara, Ramayana,
Mahabharata.[18] The individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted.
• The Pattachitra style are mix of both folk and classical elements but leanings more towards folk
forms. The dress style has Mughal influences. All of the poses have been confined to a few well-
defined postures. These are not free from monotonous repetitions, though at times this is
necessary to accentuate the narrative character of the style. The lines are bold and clean and
angular and sharp. Generally, there are no landscapes, perspectives, and distant views. All the
incidents are seen in close juxtaposition.
 RAJASTHANI
MINIATURE PAINTING
ORIGIN OF RAJASTHANI MINIATURE PAINTING
• Rajasthan painting, evolved and flourished in the royal courts of Rajputana in northern India, mainly
during the 17th and 18th centuries. Artists trained in the tradition of the Mughal miniature were
dispersed from the imperial Mughal court, and developed styles also drawing from local traditions of
painting, especially those illustrating the Hindu religious epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

• Subjects varied, but portraits of the ruling family, often engaged in hunting or their daily activities, were
generally popular, as were narrative scenes from the epics or Hindu mythology, as well as some genre
scenes of unnamed people.

• The colors were extracted from certain minerals, plant sources, conch shells, and were even derived by
processing precious stones. Gold and silver were used. The preparation of desired colors was a lengthy
process, sometimes taking 2 weeks. Brushes used were very fine.
 ABOUT RAJASTHANI MINIATURE PAINITING
• While there exist a plethora of themes in Rajput paintings OR Rajasthani paintings, a common motif found
throughout Rajput works is the purposeful manipulation of space. In particular, the inclusion of fuller spaces is meant
to emphasize the lack of boundaries and inseparability of characters and landscapes. In this way, the individuality of
physical characters is almost rejected, allowing both the depicted backgrounds and human figures to be equally
expressive.
• Outside of a purely artistic standpoint, Rajput paintings were often politically charged and commented on social
values of the time. Mewars rulers wanted these painting to portray their ambitions and establish their legacy.
Therefore, paintings were often indicative of a ruler's legacy or their changes made to better society.
• Both of these factors clearly distinguish Rajput paintings from Mughal works. While, from a chronological
standpoint, both of these cultures clashed with one another, Rajput paintings only superficially adopted Mughal
fashion and cultural standards. Elements, such as precise likenesses in portraiture, utilized by popular Mughal artists
(Govhardhan, Hashim, etc.) are not found in Rajput work. Likewise, Rajput techniques are not predominantly seen in
Mughal paintings: "At the opening of the eighteenth century, therefore, Rajput painting remains recognizably
different in intent from traditional Mughal attitudes
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