Indian Arts -- Notes -- Exclusive

Different schools of art compared

	Mughal	Pahari	Rajasthani/ Rajput
Origin	Earlier Persian blend. Became Indian under Akbar.	Originated in the sub-Himalayan kingdoms of 19th century.	Early 16th century. Various sub-schools existed
Type	Mostly in miniature form	Mostly done in miniature form
Themes	Document of life at the Mughal court, battles, hunt, arrival of embassies, festivities Portrait paintings developed under Jahangir	Love of man for woman. Symbolised by Krishna and Radha	Strongly influenced by the contemporary literary and musical forms, and draw upon their motifs <details below>
Exceptional Point
Characteristics	Realism is the keynote of this style Artists had made contacts with Western art. Influence can be seen.	Bold and intense – Basohli Delicate and lyrical; Tones subdued and lines exquisitely fine – Kangra	Decorate in their composition and colour scheme Landscape lacks the naturalism of the Mughal school
Technique			Used wider canvas
Major Artists	Basawan, Daswanth, Kesudasa, Mansur
Major Works	Akbarnama illustrations; rare birds and animals – Falcon (CS Museum, Bombay), Red Blossoms – floral painting		Jodhpur and Nagaur paintings.
Major schools		Basohli, Guler, Kangra	Malwa, Mewar (Ragamala paintings), Marwar, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Bundi, Kotah
Patrons	Akbar, Jahangir	Raja Kripal Singh (Bahsoli)

	Madhubani/Mithila	Manjusha/Angika	Tanjore
Origin	Done traditionally by the women in the villages near the town of Madhubani. It originated as floor and wall paintings. Essentially a folk tradition		17th century under the patronage of Tanjore’s Maratha rulers
Type
Themes	Nature and Hindu religious motifs		Usually portrayed deities. Vishnu,Shiva and Krishna
Exceptional Point	Was originally practiced by Brahmins and Kayasthas. Later SC women also adopted it. But the themes of the two are different. While higher castes depicted mythological themes, SCs experimented with day-to-day scenes.
Characteristics	Two dimensional imagery. Colors derived from plants. No space is left empty. Gaps are filled by painting flowers, plants animals and even geometric shapes.	Snakes are a prominent feature	Artists adhered strictly to iconography as these paintings were made for ritual and worship and not for display as is mostly the case today.
Technique	Traditionally done as murals on mud walls. Now is also done one cloth, paper and canvas		Made on jackwood pasted with unbleached cloth to which a mixture of limestone, chalk powder, gum and honey are applied in layers on a sketch of the icon. Extra coats given to raise some parts of the painting. Jewellery etc are put.
Major Artists	Jagdamba Devi, Mahasundari Devi
Major Works
Major schools	Bharni style, Kachni style
Patrons			Sarabhiji 2, Shivaji 2, Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar

                     

Rajasthani Art Schools

Mewar (Ragamala)

·       themes from the life of Krishna and his frolic with the gopis; heroes and heroines of Hindi poetry.

·       Scenes from Bhagvata and Ramayana

·       Landscape lacks the naturalism of the Mughal school

Marwar

·       Genuine Rajput style evolved under this school

·       Equestrian portraits of the royal house and the nobility.

·       Show bold types of expression with broad, fish eyes in human faces

·       This school is essentially Hindu

Jaipur

·       Raslila was painted. It became ‘an earthly erotic amusement’

Manjusha Art

·       Manjushas are temple shaped boxes containing  eight pillars

·       The boxes often contain the paintings of gods, goddesses and other characters

·       The boxes are used in Bishahari Puja

·       This is practiced in the Bhagalpur region of Bihar

Handicrafts

·       Channapatna toys

o   Wooden toys from Karnataka

·       Nirmal Toys

o   Wooden toys made in the town of Nirmal in Adilabad district

·       Tanjore doll

o   Bobblehead made of terracotta

Sandpainting

Kolam

·       Drawn using rice powder by female members in front of their home

·       Mainly in South India

Rangoli

·       North India. Using  sand colors, flour or flowers

Other fine arts

·       Mehandi

·       Pichhwai

o   Intricate paintings that portray Lord Krishna

o   Exist in the town of nathdwara in Rajasthan

·       Tarakashi

o   A type of metalwork from Cuttack

Indian Art Awards

·       Kalaimamani

o   By Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram

·       Kalidas Samman

o   Presented by the MP govt

·       Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

·       Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship

·       Shilp Guru

o   By GOI to a master craftsperson. Started in 2002.

·       Tulsi Samman

o   By MP govt. In fields of art, theatre, dance and music.

·       Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award

o   By Karnataka govt for excellence in painting