 Indian Painting
Indian paintings are the most diverse and exquisite work of art in the international arena. Indian paintings have so much variety in designs, colors, patterns and themes that it becomes too difficult for an individual to judge that which one is the best.
The basic characteristic of all the Indian paintings is that all of them have drawn their themes from their log-established customs and traditions. Some of the Indian paintings are Madhubani paintings, Warli paintings, Patachitras, Tribal Paintings, Thangka Paintings, Batik paintings, Miniature paintings, Phad paintings, Folk art paintings and contemporary Indian art paintings.
The background of the Indian paintings can be ascribed to the archeological findings apparent from the wall paintings discovered in of Ajanta and Ellora, the Buddhist fern text, Jain manuscripts and the Deccan, Mughal and Rajput discipline of diminutive Indian painting.
Indian paintings offer an artistic range to facilitate the expansion from the ancient cultures to the contemporary period. Indian paintings are flamboyant, energetic, sophisticated, stylish, audacious and spirited on the same moment. Indian paintings can also be identified as basically spiritual in principle and have developed with the passage of time to become a crucible of diverse traditions and cultures that motivated them.
History: The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of prehistoric times, the petroglyphs as found in places like the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, and some of them are older than 5500 BC. Such works continued and after several millennia, in the 7th century, carved pillars of Ajanta, Maharashtra state present a fine example of Indian paintings, and the colors, mostly various shades of red and orange, were derived from minerals.
Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India are rock-cut cave monuments dating back to the second century BCE and containing paintings and sculpture considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.
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Rajput painting is the most recent form of Indian paintings before contemporary Indian art developed. Rajput painting, a style of Indian painting, evolved and flourished, during the 18th century, in the royal courts of Rajputana, India. Each Rajput kingdom evolved a distinct style, but with certain common features. Rajput paintings depict a number of themes, events of epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Krishna's life, beautiful landscapes, and humans. Miniatures were the preferred medium of Rajput painting, but several manuscripts also contain Rajput paintings, and paintings were even done on the walls of palaces, inner chambers of the forts, havelies, particularly, the havelis of Shekhawait.
Tanjore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu. The art form dates back to the early 9th century, a period dominated by the Chola rulers, who encouraged art and literature. These paintings are known for their elegance, rich colors, and attention to detail. The themes for most of these paintings are Hindu Gods and Goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. In modern times, these paintings have become a much sought after souvenir during festive occasions in South India.
Madhubani painting is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state, India. The origins of Madhubani painting are shrouded in antiquity.
Mother Goddess A miniature painting of the Pahari style, dating to the eighteenth century. Pahari and Rajput miniatures share many common features.
Mughal painting is a particular style of Indian painting, generally confined to illustrations on the book and done in miniatures, and which emerged, developed and took shape during the period of the Mughal Empire 16th -19th centuries).
The most ancient Indian painting can be founded in Bhimbetka situated 45 km from Bhopal. It is actually a cave painting belonging to pre-historic phase.
Miniature paintings were an integral part of the ancient scripts that simply portrayed the themes of manuscripts.
Madhubani paintings are one of the most popular among Indian paintings. They are traditionally made by the women of Mithila region in the state of Bihar in India but the genesis of this painting is masked in relics. |
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An 18th century Rajput painting
by the artist Nihâl Chand. |
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| A rare Tanjore style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana. |
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Madhubani Painting
by Bharti Dayal |
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Mughal painting 1650
by Indische Maler |
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The other forms of Indian paintings are Indian murals, Phad paintings, Jadupatua painting, glass paintings, Pithora paintings, Sikh paintings, Pichwai painting, Batik painting, Pipe paintings, Kalamkari paintings and Ragamala paintings, etc.
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