Description

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Picture Courtesy:

https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/musawwari-miniatures-today-an-exhibition-in-new-delhi-highlights-the-relevance-of-miniature-painting-in-modern-times/article68881504.ece

Context:

Recently an exhibition called ‘Musawwari: Miniatures Today’ was held in New Delhi, highlighting the relevance of miniature paintings in contemporary times.

About the exhibition:

It is a new group art exhibition on traditional styles of painting associated with miniatures in South Asia.

It features a group of 20 artists from Europe, North America, Ecuador, South Asia, and West Asia, who interpret Indian aesthetics within contemporary global contexts.

About Miniature paintings in India:

Miniature paintings are highly detailed paintings presented on a small scale.

Evolution:

The tradition can be traced from the 9th-10th century in Buddhist and Jain palm leaf scriptures.

It flourished in the 1500s during the Mughal period, however, it started declining during the last periods of the Mughals i.e., the time of Aurangzeb.

However, in later time, various miniature traditions developed in various regions like Rajasthani, Himachali, etc.

Techniques:

The traditional Tempera technique is used in this type of art and there are some preconditions for it like:

The painting cannot be larger than 25 square inches.
The subject should be within 1/6th of the actual size.

Features of the paintings:

Most of the human characters are side-faced with big black eyes, a pointed nose, slim waist, black hair, and brown and fair skin color.
However, Lord Krishna's skin color is blue.
Mostly natural colors are used.

Different schools of miniature paintings in India:

Pala	8th to 12th century Under Palas of Bengal (Eastern India) The influence of classical Ajanta art is seen. Mostly on palm leaf and paper Prominent painters: Dhimman, Vitapala Influenced by Buddhism
Apabhramsa	Origin: Gujarat and Rajasthan (Western India) Mostly on palm leaf and paper Influenced by Jainism Unique features: fish-shaped bulging eyes, double chin, angular faces in the third and fourth profile, animals represented as toy Example: Kalpasutra and the Kalakacharya Katha
Delhi Sultanate	Indo-Persian style, influenced by Iran and Jain paintings. Centres: Mandu, Jaunpur, Delhi, Gujarat Example: Manuscript called Nimat Nama (a book of recipes) painted by Nasir Shah in Mandu Another prevalent style was Lodhi Khuladar.
Mughal	Own style of painting with Persian inspiration. The focus shifted from depicting the god to glorifying the ruler and his life. Court scenes were depicted in grandeur and the background was usually hilly landscapes. Unique features: Use of brilliant colors Technique: foreshortening to the Indian painter’s repertoire under which objects were drawn in a way that they look closer and smaller than they really are. Famous painters: Bizhad, Daswanth, Basawan, Kesu
Rajput	Flourished under Rajput rulers of Rajputana and Punjab Himalayas from 1500 CE to the middle of the 19th century. Themes: Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and Gita
Pahari	From 17th to 19th century Centres: Himachal Pradesh, adjoining areas of Punjab, Jammu, Garhwal in Uttarakhand Divided into two parts: Basohli and Kullu Style – Chaurapanchasika style Guler and Kangra Style – Calm colors and modification Central theme: eternal love of deities Radha and Krishna
Rajasthani	From Bikaner to the border of Gujarat and from Jodhpur to Gwalior and Ujjain Theme: Religious and love subjects, based on Lord Rama and Lord Krishna
South India	Tanjore (18th and 19th century) Famous for gold coating bold drawing, techniques of shading, and the use of pure and brilliant colors Paintings are mostly of Gods and Goddesses Mostly depicts smiling Krishna Reached their zenith under the patronage of Maharaja Serfoji II of Maratha dynasty Mysore evolved from the paintings of Vijayanagar times Themes: Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology Gesso work (paste mixture of white lead powder, gamboge and glue) was the hallmark of all traditional paintings of Karnataka. Gesso was used for depicting intricate designs of clothes, jewellery and architectural details on pillars and arches that usually framed the deities.