Paintings of Rajasthan
Rajasthan's
role in the development of Indian art has been very important. The decoration
of dwellings and other household objects was but one aspect of the creative
genius of the Rajasthani - the world of miniature paintings is perhaps the most
fascinating and the distinctive styles that have existed here are renowned the
world over. From the 16th century onwards there flourished different schools
of paintings like the Mewar school, the Bundi-Kota kalam, the Jaipur, Bikaner,
Kishengarh and Marwar schools.
Maharaja Ganga Singhji, Bikaner
Influenced by the surroundings, these medieval paintings have their own unique
styles - the hills and valleys, deserts, places and forts, gardens, court scenes,
religious processions and those highlighting scenes from the life of Lord Krishna
were the recurrent themes of these paintings. The Raagamala paintings and those
based on Goeta Govinda are treasures of Rajasthan. It is widely believed that
the miniature artists of Rajasthan were practising and perfecting their art
as early as the beginning of the 16th century and were later employed by the
Mughal courts, specially by the Great Mughal emperor Akbar.
Each school of painting had its distinctive features. For instance, the flowing
rivers, dense forests, lush green fields of Kota-Bundi region were transferred
to the paintings of that regions. In palaces of Kota-Bundi are displayed the
paintings depicting hunting scenes and animal fights. Other than Nature, the
figures of women are graceful, with wellproportioined bodies and sharp features.
CoIours used are mainly bright, with red prominently appearing n the background.
Areas in the viciniity of this region, like Uniara, Indergarh and Sarola were
also influenced by the Kota and Bundi kalam.
Miniature paintings, Kota
The ruler of Amer-jaipur were closest to the Mughals and had maintained political
and social links with them Therefore, it was only natural to find a strong Mughal
influence in the paintings here. Examples of this can be understood in the paintings
in the palaces of Amer, Bairat and Toda Rai Singh and much later in Samod, Achrol,
Shahpura, Alwar and Tonk.The Kishengarh school is best known for its Bani Thani
paintings. A totally different style with highly exaggerate features - long
necks, large, almondshaped eyes, long fingers and the use of subdued colours.
The originality of style can be credited to its royal patron - Raja Sawant Singh,
better known as Nagari Das. The usual court scenes have also been painted h-ere
but it was Nagari Das and his love for the singer-poet Bani Thani which gave
this tiny state the most refined and delicate paintings.
Jodhpur has a very strong folk tradition and here the figures are mainly robust
warriors and dainty women. Paintings of the legendary lovers like Dhola-Maru
on camelback, hunting scenes which included innumerable horses and elephants
dominate the paintings of the Marwar region. Similarly, Bikaner too had strong
Mughal influences and developed a style which was a combination of both the
local as well as borrowed styles.The colours used by the miniature artists were
made from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, pure
gold and silver.
The prepariing and mixing of colour was an elaborate process and it took weeks,
sometimes months, to get the desired resuIts. Very fine, specially created brushes
were made for different kinds of paintings.The landscape changed, the colours
used were varied, paintings were done on paper and palm leaf to illustrate manuscripts,
and on walls of palaces and the inner chambers of forts, havelies (the painted
havelies of Shekhawati are well-known), and paintings were done on cloth. But
the importance of miniatures has never diminished -even after all these years.
Pure Rajput paintings and those influenced by the Mughal court provide an interesting
insight into the lifestyle of the centuries and continue to fascinate scholars
to this day. Artists in Jaipur, Nathdwara and Kishengarh , still work on miniatures
and some of them produce excellent work. There have been several new developments
but on the whole, the magical quaility of the miniature continuous to live on.
In
a different class but with several similarities are the cloth paintings of Rajasthan
which include the phads - scroll paintings used by the Bhopas and the pichwais
- cloth hangings used behind the deity in Vaishnava temples. Done in bright
colours with bold outlines, these paintings have very strong religious traditions.
And the artist who works on them considers himself to be a servant of the Lord
and puts in shraddha or devotion on each pichwai or phad that he paints. This
art form is also done for commercial use.
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