Eternal India Encyclopedia

ART

Eternal India

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Sialkot, fibres being cotton and bamboo. Painter's brushes were

made from fine hair from squirrel's tails. The master artist visual-

ised the colour shade and indicated the colours that were to go on

various parts of the painting. Blue was lapis lazuli (Asia), red from

ochre and Indian red from oxide of iron in Jabalpur; gold from gold

leaf etc. Paintings were also integrated with calligraphy and often

on both sides of the paper, and the sheets bound as an album.

The most distinctive feature of Mughal miniatures is the calli-

graphic character of its outline due to Persian influence, but it shows

more realism and freedom than Persian works. In addition, the in-

troduction of modelling by means of delicate shading and a more

natural interpretation of distance is attempted.

Under Jehangir Mughal painting

found its most enthusiastic patron.

Painting under him strongly reflects his

feeling for natural beauty. Mansur, his

most talented painter of plants, birds,

and animals conveys their spirit. Other

subjects include Mughal emperor and

princes meeting fakirs and sadhus,

hunting (which display suspense and

drama), portraits, court scenes, etc.

Under Jehangir, the association with

Western

painting

increased.

Nim-

bused cherubims, winged figures, lin-

ear and aerial perspective, use of shad-

ows and landscapes in the background

of paintings are signs of European in-

fluence. In addition, albums of paint-

ings (in contrast to illuminated and il-

and romance, such as the one between Laila and Majnu, Khusru and

Shirin, Rupamati and Baz Bahadur, Kamrup and Kamalata.

During the reign of Aurangzeb, the patronage to art rapidly de-

clined and many paintings were defaced due to his fanatic zeal.

However, Zeb-un-nisa, his daughter, had calligraphers to copy old

manuscripts and her library surpassed all private collections. Art-

ists migrated to Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Punjab hills, carrying

the Mughal tradition with them.

After the invasion of Nadir Shah (1739) painting in Delhi re-

ceived a blow. An exodus of artists to Fyzabad, Lucknow, Patna,

Murshidabad, Hyderabad, Punjab hills and Rajasthan took place.

Names of original artists were copied and copies made, royal seals

were also stamped on them.

Deccan painting during the rule of the

Bahmani dynasty and the subsequent

kingdoms of Golconda, Bidar, Berar,

Ahmednagar and Bijapur, developed in

those kingdoms during the 16th century

in parallel with Mughal painting. It was

influenced in style and technique by

Persian painting. A form of painting,

called Ragamala, expressing the Indian

modes of music and portraiture were

favourite themes (especially Ibrahim

Adil Shah II of Bijapur). Dancing scenes

were common in Golconda painting. Here

a fusion of Persian and South Indian

Hindu elements can be seen. The

sinuous lines, dreamy atmosphere,

flowered background, use of gold for the sky, are of Persian

inspiration. But the rich palette, lush landscape, elongated female

types with one end of the sari drawn across the chest show

Vijayanagar strain.

The principal states of Mewar (Udaipur), Marwar (Jodhpur),

Amber (Jaipur), Bikaner, Kotah, Bundi and Kishangarh were fa-

mous for their painters and painting where artists from the Mughal

empire found employment and tackled Hindu religious themes.

Their main theme and source of inspiration was the life and love of

Krishna, who had been the subject of the religious movement of

Ramanuja (1070 -1137) and the texts of the Bhagavata Purana,

Jayadeva's

Gita Govinda,

Vallabhacharya (1478), Sivwas (1479-

1584), Mira Bai (1504-1550), Rasikapriya Keshav Das (1580-

1601) and Biharilal(1595-1663). The love of Radha and Krishna is

the highest form of human love which symbolised divine love.

The Mewar school is characterised by great and primitive vig-

our. Primary colours reds, blues, and yellows are lavishly used.

Padumavathi

(by Malik Muhammad Jaisa) is inspired by the

story of Padmini of Chitor.

The Bhagvat Purana, Ramayana

(1651 -

1652),

Gita Govinda

(1723) are other examples.

Another important style is the Bundi style of painting, where

the landscape is a source of inspiration, as well as feminine beauty.

Bundi artists portrayed women with a receding forehead and chin, a

strong nose and full cheeks and sharp eyebrows. The "Bhairavi

Ragini" (Allahabad museum) shows a woman worshipping a linga

inside a temple. There is a lotus pond in front with fish and water-

birds.

The 'Vasantha Ragini" is one of the masterpieces of this school.

It shows Krishna with the usual dark blue complexion dancing

beside a lotus pond with a pair of gopis to his right.

The Bundi artists depicted great skill in portraying elephants.

The painting "Summer Elephant" (Prince of Wales Museum, Bom-

bay), glows with hot colours, orange and yellow - skilfully portray-

ing the searing summer heat.

There is also a class of Indian paintings, known as

Ragamala,

Necklace of Modes of Music. In these paintings the mood and

sentiment behind the traditional forms of Indian music are visual-

ised. Usually there are 36

ragas

and

raginis

consisting of the six

principal

ragas

and the 5 mistresses, or

raginis

each. In later Raga-

malas more elaboration is introduced and each

raga

is further

provided with 8 sons, making a total of 84

ragas, raginis

and

subragas.

Coomaraswamy describes the Ragamala as "profoundly

imagined pictures of human passion." (A.K. Coomaraswamy,

"Hindi Ragamala Texts, "Journal of the American Oriental Society,

Vol.43 p.396). Most of them either depict joy of love in reunion or

two parts of love in separation. In

raginis

showing love in separa-

tion, lovesick heroines pine for their lovers. They watch peacocks,

black bucks or play with cobras, rain and tigers - all symbols of the

absent lover (as lovers in Rajasthan were often absent in fighting).

The plate (no. 14 of Indian Painting by Randhawa and Galbraith)

represents Ragini Madhu Madhivi of mid 18th century where a

peacock starts screaming when the lady rushes toward the pavilion;

and there are dark clouds in the sky.

In the desert kingdom of Marwar with its grand palaces at Jodh-

pur, flourished a school of painting in the 15th and 16th centuries. A

Ragamala series of 1623 was painted in a folk style, while painting

in Mughal style developed under the patronage of Jaswant Singh

with many portraits of himself. While Mughal style is evident in the

Falcon by Ustad Mansur

School of Jehangir.