Monday, 27 October 2014

Painting – An Art of Representing Unsaid Emotions

Culture is the dynamic force that drives unity amongst the people and India is a country that is rich in its culture. If there is anything that can depict the culture in its true forms, it is painting and if anybody wants to learn about the ancient art, culture, emotions, and expressions, then one should definitely have a look at Tanjore Paintings India.
 
The Indian Traditional Paintings are a portrayal of Indian tradition and its age old beliefs and values. These paintings not only contain portraits of men and women but varied art forms take shape of these paintings that are not only famous in our country but is demanded across the globe because of their simplicity and soothing effect of colors and shapes that are used in the paintings.

History of these paintings

The history of Indian Traditional Paintings can be dated back to the famous era of Ellora, Ajanta, Buddhist Palm leaves, Jain texts, and others. From the regime of Mughals to Nawabs to the Akbar reign, all the kings and rulers had huge paintings hung across the entire mansions and palaces. Even during the British rule, the Britishers ordered the Indian craftsmen to paint portraits of rulers and majesties which were later showcased proudly in the palaces where they lived. These paintings were later carried back to Britain as well.

Different styles of paintings

Every painting has its own style and essence. Indian traditional art has different forms which are all famous because of their own beauty. The most famous styles of traditional paintings are –

1.    Tanjore paintings
2.    Mysore paintings
3.    Bihar paintings
4.    Rajput paintings
5.    Madhubani paintings
6.    Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings
7.    Kalamkari paintings
8.    Patachitra paintings
9.    Ajanta and Ellora paintings
10.    Miniature paintings
11.    Glass painting
12.    Oil painting
13.    Warli painting
14.    Indian folk painting

Among all the above, the painting that was, is and will be the most famous and the most beautiful one is – Tanjore painting

All about Tanjore

Tanjore Paintings India is a south Indian classical form of painting style which was first started in the beautiful city of Thanjauvur and then spread across as its fame begun to spread.

Ancient Tamil Nadu was geographically spread among three kingdoms –the Cholas, The Cheras, and the Pandyas. The Chola kingdom which roughly comprises of the present northern part of Tamil Nadu had Thanjavur as its capital which means, ‘’the land of refugee’’ in Tamil. It is from this place, the art of tanjore emerged and got its name as ‘’Tanjore’’. This city is known to have a rich background of mythology and it is a fact that the Lord of wealth, Kubera dwelled from this city. Thus, if you observe the paintings of Tanjore all revolve in and around these aspects depicting the specialty of the city it emerged from.

Today, Tanjore paintings are made on wooden boards only so that they can meet the changing needs of the customers. Way back when it was originated, it was made on glass which showed the true reflection of the picture. Even today, tanjore is one of the costliest paintings to be bought because they are richly embossed with 22 carat gold foil along with semi-precious metals and stones. Today’s tanjore paintings depict a lot of themes ranging from Christian Gods and Goddesses to Hindu myth and religion. If a person joins a class on tanjore paintings, in the initial few classes, they are only taught to pencil sketch and paint figures of Gods and Goddesses, their mudras and styles.
Traditional paintings of India depict their rich culture and belief in God and tanjore paintings prove all of them right by beautifully sculpting them into portraits.