INDIAN PAINTINGS OF NORTH, EAST, AND WEST

INTRODUCTION 

Even though only a very small number of early specimens have survived due to climatic circumstances, Indian painting has a very long heritage and history in Indian art. The earliest paintings in India date back to prehistoric periods and are found as petroglyphs in sites like Bhimbetka rock shelters. About 10,000 years have passed since some of the Stone Age rock paintings were discovered among the Bhimbetka rock shelters.

 Murals, miniatures, and paintings on fabric can all be generically categorized as Indian paintings. Murals are substantial pieces of art that are painted on the sides of sturdy buildings, such as the Ajanta Caves and the Kailashnath Temple. Miniature paintings are created on a tiny scale for books or albums using perishable materials like paper and cloth. Mural remnants using fresco-like techniques at several locations with Indian rock-cut architecture dating back at least 2,000 years, but the Ajanta Caves' remains from the first and fifth centuries are by far the most significant.

 Paintings on the fabric were frequently created in a more populist setting, frequently as folk art. They were frequently used or purchased as pilgrimage mementos, such as by traveling reciters of epic poetry like the Bhopas of Rajasthan and Chitrakathi elsewhere. There are very few relics that are older than 200 years, yet it is obvious that the traditions date back far more. Some local traditions continue to produce art.

 The Bengal School of art rose to prominence in the 1930s, and several experiments in Indian and European styles followed. Numerous new artistic forms were created by significant painters including Jamini Roy, M. F. Husain, Francis Newton Souza, and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde after India gained its freedom. The forms and styles of art have undergone numerous transformations along with the advancement of the economy.

SHADANGA'S " SIX LIMBS"   

A piece of art is more than just its outward appearance, the paint strokes, and the bare spaces. The aura of artwork is completed by the formless (the vayanjana), not only the form. Indian aesthetics holds that the volitional and sensuous are inextricably linked. Ancient Indian liturgical scriptures laid the most significant canons of Indian art in the form of Shadang to achieve such transcendental dualism.

Six significant components of painting were outlined in ancient literature. The translation of these "Six Limbs" is as follows:

 Rupabheda- understanding of appearances.

Pramanam- accurate measurement, perception, and organization.

Bhava- the impact of emotions on shapes.

Lavanya Yojanam- Graceful infusion and creative representation.

Sadrisyam- Similitude.

Varnikabhanga- an artistic way of applying paint with brushes. 

These six aesthetic canons support artistic freedom rather than restricting it. The Vhishnudharmottara Purana's Chitrasutra indicates that the artist must encounter secrets outside of the realm of cognitive intellect. He must not only comprehend the art but also directly experience it. The authentic rasa is there. Although these different instructions are valuable, it is stated that they are generated from and submissive to practice. The artist is free to use his own judgment when creating.

MURALS

Indian murals have a long history that spans from the second century BC to the eighth to tenth centuries AD. More than 20 locations in India are known to have murals from this period, mostly in the form of natural caves and rock-cut chambers. These include the Ajanta, Bagh, Sittanavasal, Armamalai, Ramgarh, Sitabinji, Kailasanatha, and Ellora Caves as well as the Kailasanatha Temple.

 Murals from this era primarily show Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religious subjects. However, there are other places where secular paintings were found. This contains the Jogimara and Sitabenga Caves, which date from the third to first century BCE and are home to the earliest painted cave and theatre in Chhattisgarh.

MINIATURES

The majority of the earliest portable Indian artworks that have survived are miniatures from texts or painted objects like boxes. Not a single medieval Indian painting on cloth is known to have survived, unless certain Buddhist ones have been taken as Tibetan or from Central Asia, despite the plenty of evidence that larger paintings on fabric (known as pata) existed and even surviving literature describing how to make them. Some of the images that Sir Aurel Stein found there are Indian paintings, the majority of which are Buddhist and some of which include Hindu deities like Ganesha and Shiva.

EASTERN INDIAN MURALS

Nalanda, Odantapuri, Vikramshila, and Somarpura, all of which were located in the Pala empire, were the major Buddhist artistic and intellectual centers in eastern India (Bengal and Bihar). There are 10th-century miniature paintings from this area still in existence. The palm-leaf manuscripts' leaves, measuring around 2.25 by 3 inches, as well as their wooden covers, were painted with these miniatures, which showed Buddhist deities and episodes from the life of Buddha. Several Buddhist temples in Bagan, Myanmar, including Abeyadana temple, which was named after Myanmar's Queen Consort, have elements of eastern Indian murals.

JAIN  ART

Generally from the 13th century and later, the surviving illustrated manuscripts from Gujarat, in Western India, dating from the 11th century. All of the original, surviving examples are Jain. By the 15th century, they were using a lot of gold and were getting more extravagant.

 The Kalpa Sutra, which contains the lives of the Tirthankaras, particularly Parshvanatha and Mahavira, is the manuscript text that is most commonly illustrated. The images are "wiry drawing" and "brilliant, even jewel-like color," and they are positioned in the text as panels that resemble squares. The characters are always viewed from the side and have recognizable "long pointed noses and prominent eyes." It is customary for the side of the face that is furthest away to protrude so that both eyes may be seen.

MUGHAL PAINTINGS

Indian paintings in the Mughal style, which evolved, developed, and took shape between the 16th and 19th centuries, are typically reserved for book illustrations and are created in miniature.  Persian miniatures had a significant influence on the Mughal style, which in turn influenced several Indian painting styles, such as the Rajput, Pahari, and Deccan styles.

 Indian, Persian, and Islamic artistic influences were uniquely combined in Mughal paintings. The Mughal rulers desired tangible proof of their exploits as conquerors and hunters, so their artists joined them on military campaigns or official missions, documented their animal-killing prowess, or painted them in the grand dynastic wedding rituals.

 Indian miniature art entered a new era during Akbar's reign (1556–1605). He was the first king to set up an atelier in India under the guidance of two Persian great painters named Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdus Samad. Both of them had previously worked for Humayun in Kabul and traveled with him to India after he reclaimed his kingdom in 1555. A new school of painting, known as the Mughal School of miniature Paintings, was created with the help of more than a hundred painters, most of them were from Gujarat, Gwalior, and Kashmir.

DECCAN PAINTINGS

In the several Muslim capital cities of the Deccan sultanates, in the Deccan area of Central India, Deccan painting was created. The Deccan painting outperforms the early Mughal art that was developing at the same time to the north in terms of "the brilliance of their color, the subtlety and creativity of their composition, and an overall aura of decadent richness." Other contrasts include painting "tall women with tiny heads" wearing saris and "poorly sculpted faces" in three-quarter view rather than largely in profile in the Mughal style. Although there are many royal portraits, they do not accurately depict their Mughal counterparts. The representation of buildings is as "completely flat screen-like panels."

RAGAMALA PAINTINGS

Ragamala paintings are a type of Indian miniature painting that feature illustrations of the Ragamala, also known as the "Garland of Ragas," which shows different renditions of the ragas, or Indian musical modes. They serve as a classic illustration of how art, poetry, and classical music were combined in medieval India.

Beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries, the majority of Indian painting schools produced raga mala paintings, which are now referred to by names like Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthani or Rajput Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala.

It was developed in Rajasthan as well.

Each raga is personified in these paintings by a color, a mood, a verse that tells the tale of a hero and heroine (nayaka and nayika), and it also explains the season and the time of day and night when a particular raga is to be sung. Most paintings also demarcate the specific Hindu deities associated with the raga, such as Bhairava or Bhairavi to Shiva, Sri to Devi, etc. In addition to the Ragas, the paintings also feature their spouses (raginis), countless sons (ragaputra), and daughters (ragaputri).

 Bhairava, Dipika, Sri, Malkaunsa, Megha, and Hindola are the six main ragas included in the Ragamala, and they are intended to be sung during the six seasons of the year: summer, monsoon, autumn, early winter, winter, and spring

Rajput paintings

Rajput painting, also known as Rajasthan painting, developed and thrived in Rajputana's royal courts in northern India, primarily in the 17th century. After being exiled from the imperial Mughal court, artists trained in the Mughal miniature tradition developed styles that drew on regional painting traditions, particularly those used to illustrate the Hindu religious epics Mahabharata and Ramayana.

The subjects varied, but portraits of the royal family—often seen hunting or going about their daily lives—as well as narrative scenes from the epics of Hindu mythology, as well as certain genre images of unidentified individuals, were frequently popular

Certain minerals, plant sources, conch shells, and even the processing of precious stones were used to extract the hues. Silver and gold were used. The process of creating suitable hues was time-consuming, occasionally taking two weeks. Fine brushes were customarily used.

PAHARI PAINTINGS

Pahari painting, which literally translates to "a painting from the mountainous regions" ( Pahar, a mountain in Hindi), is a general term for a style of Indian painting that originated in the Himalayan hill kingdoms of North India during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly in Basohli, Mankot, Nurpur, Chamba, Kangra, Guler, Mandi, and Garhwal. These paintings are typically done in miniature form. The family workshop of Nainsukh, a well-known master of the middle of the 18th century, continued for another two generations. The eternal love of the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna is the main subject of Pahari art.

Kangra art

The visual art of Kangra is known as "Kangra painting," and it was popularised by the former princely state of Himachal Pradesh known as the Kangra State. It gained popularity when the Basohli school of painting began to fade in the middle of the 18th century and soon produced so many paintings, both in terms of quantity and quality, that the Pahari painting school later became known as Kangra paintings.

During the first part of the 18th century, in the little hill state of Guler in the Lower Himalayas, a family of Kashmiri painters schooled in Mughal painting style sought refuge at the court of Raja Dalip Singh (r. 1695–1741). What is regarded as the Early phase of Kangra Kalam is when the popularity of Guler Paintings began to soar. The ambiance of the hills had a big impact on the newcomers, who mixed with the neighborhood artists. The artists chose to depict Radha and Krishna's undying love as their subject matter rather than their masters' attractive portraits and romantic situations. The paintings used cool, fresh hues and a naturalistic style. The hues had an enamel-like sheen and were derived from minerals and vegetables.

Drawing is the primary form of Guler-Kangra art, and the drawings are accurate, fluid, poetic, and lifelike. These faces have a delicate delicacy that is almost porcelain-like thanks to skillful modeling and shading.

The vegetation depicted in the Kangra paintings includes creepers and flowers, trees without leaves, rivers, and brooks.

 The Kangra artists incorporated several tones of the fundamental colors as well as softer, more youthful hues. On the upper hills, for instance, they used a bright pink to denote distance.

 Kangra's paintings gracefully capture the allure of women. Soft and elegant facial characteristics are present. The female figures are quite lovely.

 Pahari school: a majestic figure perched on a throne.

Later Kangra paintings also included representations of nighttime settings, storms, and lightning. The paintings were frequently big and featured intricate landscapes and compositions by numerous individuals. Towns and neighborhoods of houses were frequently portrayed in the distance.

This art form, which is currently in danger of extinction, is being promoted by the Kangra Arts Promotion Society an NGO in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. An art school for young boys and girls is run by this NGO. Additionally, it conducts a workshop where genuine Kangra paintings are created using only mineral and vegetable pigments on handmade paper.

 BENGAL SCHOOL OF ART

During the British Raj in India in the early 20th century, the Bengal School of Art was a prominent art movement. Although it was linked to Indian nationalism, many British arts officials also supported and encouraged it.

BHARAT MATHA

In response to the academic art movements that had previously been supported in India by both British art institutions and Indian painters like Ravi Varma, the Bengal school emerged as avant-garde and nationalist movement. Ernest Binfield Havel, a British art instructor, tried to change the teaching strategies at the Calcutta School of Art by pushing pupils to copy Mughal miniatures after Indian spiritual ideals gained great traction in the West. This generated a great deal of controversy, prompting a student strike and criticism in the local media, especially from nationalists who thought it was a backward step. The artist Abanindranath Tagore, a descendant of the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore, backed Havel. Several of Abanindranath's paintings were influenced by Mughal art. His most well-known picture, Bharat Mata (Mother India), featured a young woman carrying items representative of India's national aspirations while being portrayed with four arms in the style of Hindu deities.

Western influences on Indian art 

Western influences on Indian art first became noticeable during the colonial period. Some artists created a style that portrayed Indian subjects using Western concepts of composition, perspective, and realism. Some artists, such as Jamini Roy, deliberately drew influence from folk art.   Bharti Dayal has decided to approach the traditional Mithila Painting in the most modern way possible, incorporating both realism and abstractionism into her work while also adding a lot of fantasy. Her work exhibits a flawless sense of harmony, balance, and beauty.

 By the time India gained its independence in 1947, several art schools in that country offered access to contemporary methods and concepts. Galleries were created so that these artists might be displayed.

Although it frequently draws inspiration from Indian themes and images, modern Indian art typically exhibits the influence of Western aesthetics. Major musicians are starting to earn international acclaim, initially among audiences outside of India but also among the Indian diaspora.

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