TRADITIONAL ARTS OF SOUTH INDIA

TRADITIONAL PAINTINGS OF SOUTH INDIA.

Paintings: learnt from the shadow of nature by early man, a child's first language, the expressiveness of the creative mind, the figure out of inexpressive thoughts, the rebirth of historical heroes, the transmission of community culture, the colours of thoughts. - P.Deepalakshmi

Paintings

Many cave paintings show that painting was a mode of communication for early man. Later on, this became a pictorial script. These scripts demonstrate early man's artistic abilities. They later utilized this artwork to document knowledge. Many cave paintings depict early agricultural practices, festivities, and animal hunting.

Let's have a look at the important contributions of South India in art. 

paintings of Kerala

Mural paintings

Kerala's traditional mural paintings are a beautiful art form requiring skill and creativity. The majority of Kerala's notable mural works were created during the 15th and 19th centuries. They have a stamp of individuality in terms of techniques and aesthetics.Murals are works of art that are painted or applied directly to walls, ceilings, or other permanent surfaces. Murals blend architectural features of the given space into their composition in a cohesive manner. Kerala murals are notable for their elegance

• Kerala, along with Rajasthan, has the biggest collection of murals based on old Indian myths. Some of the murals in Kerala date from the eighth century. Murals painted on canvas and paper are much more popular than wall murals..
• Mural art materials, including as pigments, brushes, and gum, are all made from natural materials such as minerals and plants. Saffron-red, saffron-yellow, green, red, white, blue, black, yellow, and golden-yellow are the most commonly used pigments in Kerala murals.
• Every mural is a monument to the artists' unwavering commitment to their craft. Kerala's temples and palaces are all visual feasts that tell the stories of ancient Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
•  Ancient Dravidian ceremonies such as Kalamezhuthu and Patayani had a huge influence on Kerala's murals. The sensitivity, sharpness, and ethereal beauty of Kerala's paintings are unrivalled.
• Murals in the Thirunandikkara Cave temple, now part of the Kanyakumari region in Tamil Nadu, are the oldest murals discovered in Kerala. 
• The Gajendra Moksha, Kerala's largest mural panel, is located in the Krishnapuram Palace near Kayamkulam in the Alappuzha district. 
• The Mattancherry Palace in Ernakulam district has extensive murals depicting themes from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Bhagavatha. 
• The murals at Ettumanoor's Shiva Temple offer insight into the earliest types of Dravidian mural art.
• Kerala murals are a symbol of natural beauty and grace, elegance and simplicity, and spiritual devotion, and are a perfect souvenir to be remembered for a lifetime. 
• This humility is what allows this art form to survive the ravages of time and civilisation.

paintings of Karnataka

• The history of painting in Karnataka may be traced back to the first man in the 1st Millenium B.C., who lived during the Megalithic Age. These cave paintings were largely animal figures that graced the cave walls. 
• Paintings and murals began to appear on the walls of temples, castles, caves, ceramics, and other things as time passed. During the 6th century, the Chalukya monarchs fostered painting as an art form, and several murals were carved on the walls and ceilings of temples, palaces, and residences.
•  Cave painting was also common, as the murals in Badami demonstrate. Early Buddhist ideology and philosophy impacted these paintings. Following the wonderful Badami era, there was a period of lull.
• In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was left to the Vijayanagara kingdom to take up sponsorship of the arts, particularly painting. 
• Murals, illustrated manuscripts, and miniatures are three types of paintings from Karnataka that may be classed based on style, type, and influences. In Karnataka paintings, religion is a common motif.

CHITTARA

• Chittara is a form of indigenous art. It's a common cultural phenomena among the Deevaru, a matriarchal and agrarian group of nature worshipers that live in and near Sagar.
•  It is predominantly carried out by the community's women as a socio-cultural practise that encapsulates a microcosm of socio-cultural dynamics.
• Deevaru village is located amid the verdant western ghats of North Canara.
•  Chittara paintings are elaborate designs that express life's auspicious ceremonies and rituals through geometric patterns. 
• This necessitates a basic comprehension of ratios and proportions, which the community's women have mastered with ease. 
• This folk art was and continues to be a part of their daily lives. It was never a career, but rather an artistic and socio-cultural practise
• He creates paintings that are 2–3 feet in size, aesthetically sophisticated, and made up of symbols that symbolise their physical surroundings. 
• They employ environmentally safe natural resources such as ground rice paste for white, roasted rice for black, yellow seeds (Gurige) for red earth, and Pundi Naaru for the brushes. 
• Chittara paintings are a source of immense joy, beauty, and creativity for women in the Deevaru community. 
• They are proud of their heritage, which has linked them socially and culturally through unique rituals and ritualistic activities.

MYSORE PAINTINGS

• Mysore Delicate lines, exquisite brush strokes, beautiful delineation of people, and the subtle use of vibrant vegetable colours and shiny gold leaf characterise the paintings. 
• The paintings are more than just beautiful pieces; they are meant to evoke feelings of devotion and humility in the observer. 
• This style of painting places a premium on the painter's ability to communicate a wide range of emotions.
• Mysore's initial stage Painting was employed to prepare the ground, which could be made of paper, wood, linen, or even the wall. Paper pulp or waste paper was used to make the paper board, which was then sun-dried and smoothed with a polished quartz stone.
•  If the ground was made of fabric, it was plastered to a wooden board using a paste made of dry white lead (safeda), gum, and a little amount of gruel (ganji). After that, the board was dried and shined.
•  Dry white lead, yellow ochre, and gum were used to prepare wood surfaces, and yellow ochre, chalk, and gum were used to prepare walls.
•  A crude drawing of the painting was done with crayon prepared from the ground once the ground was prepared.

Paintings of Andhrapradesh

CHERIAL PAINTING

Cherial, Kalamkari, and Nirmal paintings are some of the most well-known Andhra paintings. Another distinguishing element of these works is that they frequently depict mythological themes and figures. The beauty of nature is sometimes depicted in these paintings. Scroll down to learn more about Andhra Pradesh's popular paintings.

CHERIAL PAINTINGS

Cherial folk painting is a lovely work of art that uses a rich colour palette to portray the narrative structure. The themes of these paintings are drawn from the ancient epics. Cherial paintings are painted on cloth that might be several metres long, using ancient techniques. The main community that uses these paintings as a visual aid to recite stories from the 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata' is the 'Kaki padagollu'. Cherial paintings or scroll paintings are still made today in smaller scales on fabric, cardboard, plywood, and paper.

NIRMAL PAINTINGS OF TELENGANA

Nirmal's paintings use a variety of colours to convey a wide range of emotions. These paintings have genuine and bright expressions. Nirmal is a town in the Adilabad area, and these paintings are named for it. Originally, a group of artisans known as the 'Nagash' were the sole practitioners of this work of art. The 'Mughal' monarchs of the 14th century patronised this art because they were fascinated by its attractiveness. Nirmal's paintings cover a wide range of subjects, indicating a strong influence from Indian schools such as Kangra, Ajanta, and Moghul miniatures.

KALAMKARI PAINTINGS OF ANDHRAPRADESH

KALAMKARI

Kalamkari is derived from the Persian words qalam (pen) and kari (cloth) (craftmanship). This type of art is well-known throughout Andhra Pradesh. Srikalahasthi from Chittoor district and Machilipatnam Kalamkari from Krishna district are the two main forms. The entire Srikalahasthi Kalamkari process consists of seventeen steps, including block manufacturing, textile treatment, printing, and washing. The Srikalahasthi form of Kalamkari is mostly employed for narrating religious myths and epics on fabric, and the saris of this style are known for their elegant and creative borders and pallu. Vegetable dyes are used to make the majority of the colours in Kalamkari. The popularity of this magnificent kind of painting has garnered Andhra Pradesh international acclaim. Lepakshi promotes it heavily.
Srikalahasthi Kalamkari is a type of Kalamkari work that is related to hand-dyed cloth painting. It is mostly manufactured in the Andhra Pradesh town of Srikalahasthi, in the Chittoor district. It was registered with the state under the heading of handmade goods for geographical indication.

TANJORE PAINTINGS OF TAMILNADU

TANJORE PAINTINGS

• Thanjavur painting, also known as Tanjore painting, is a classical art form from southern India that celebrates the region's rich creative legacy. 
• It is named after the town of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India. Tanjore paintings are notable for their lavish portrayals of deities, which feature bright colours and flashy ornaments, particularly gold foil. 
• Despite the fact that the art form has evolved over time, it remains popular among art lovers and inspires many painters with its uniquely Indian style.Palagai padam translates to "image on a wooden plank," and refers to Tanjore paintings that are often produced on jackfruit or teak wood planks.
•  Tanjore paintings are known for their use of brilliant colours and gold leaf embellishments, as well as cut glass, pearls, and precious and semi-precious stones. While artists employed natural colours such as vegetable and mineral dyes in the past, artificial paints have gradually taken over.
•  Tanjore paintings have a stunning colour palette of vivid reds, blues, and greens. This, combined with the paintings' richness and dense compositions, distinguishes them from other Indian art traditions.
•  Bal Krishna, Lord Rama, and other gods, goddesses, saints, and subjects from Hindu mythology are common motifs in Tanjore paintings.

 COMMUNITY

• Tanjore paintings were once created by the Raju community of Tanjore and Tiruchy, as well as the Madurai Naidu group. Following the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, these artists, who were originally Telugu speakers from Andhra Pradesh, relocated to Tamil Nadu. These artists valued patronage so much that the scale of their paintings fluctuated depending on the subject and the patron's preferences.
• Tanjore's painting required a lot of patience and perfection on the part of the artists. Furthermore, the master craftsmen had to undertake the artwork creation, which was considered a sacred activity, with some degree of ritual purity and humility. Most painters preferred to remain nameless and never signed their work, as is customary in Indian art.
• Mysore painting is a popular art genre that shares many traits with Tanjore painting, which can lead to mistakes. They both date from the Vijayanagara period and were created by artists from the Raju and Naidu groups. Though the techniques are strikingly similar, there are several noticeable variations, such as Mysore paintings' use of paper as a basis and its limited use of gold foil, glass beads, and precious and semi-precious stones. In contrast to the complex composition of Tanjore paintings, the themes in Mysore paintings mirror the modern style that was dominant in the Mysore Palace and also contains more elaborate landscapes.
• Tanjore painting is being practised today, largely by a few dedicated artists residing in Tamil Nadu. Along with the transition to synthetic colours in artworks, jackfruit and teak wood have been phased out in favour of plywood.

Sivagangai district Tamilnadu herbal paintings

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