Indian Art Paintings A hidden Gem in Indian History:

 

India, always known for its varied cultural wealth, has a strong history pertaining to its Indian art paintings. It's paintings have always been praised for their great work, the commitment of the artists, perfectionism and content. A majority of the paintings have a definite content in them, most of which are extracts from great epics, Ramayana, Mahabharata, lives of gods and various morals. Apart from these topics, pure and eternal love has seen its existence in these paintings.

The Indian art work back dates itself in “BC”, where artists used stone / rock as their platform. These primarily were used as temple boundaries, pillars and constituents of great monuments. As the time passed by, many of such great sculptors were discovered at the pillars of Ajanta & Ellora Caves.

Approximately at the same time, the usage of paper and cloth for paintings was introduced to Indian art paintings. That was when painting in India was categorized as Murals and Miniatures.

Murals comprised of large wall paintings on caves or halls, palaces. Whereas miniatures are small illustrations on leaves or such material which contained ancient scriptures.

At the same time, art in eastern and western India also gained popularity. Eastern India paintings were designed on Buddha and his works. It is said that the complete work of Gautama Buddha was illustrated on the manuscripts which was well preserved for future generations. A lot of western paintings were concentrated on life and works of lord Krishna. Illustrations such as Gitagovindam and various hymns were inscribed on miniatures. This work certainly has a great role to play for the future generations. These act as ready references for the future to learn from and practice instantaneously.

Soon after this, the kings saw the growing demand and the interest of people in fine arts. They have established several schools and colleges which facilitated in teaching various arts to people of all ages. This largely promoted various Indian paintings. The availability of raw materials and up gradation of the resources aided the students to learn better and improve their tact of art.

The unique thing about Indian paintings is that each emperor who ruled the country had a different choice of art. And during his reign, that particular type of art was well promoted. Hence India has seen a wide range of paintings.

Talking about Indian paintings, one should know of the work done by Indians in the field of Oil Paintings. These are primarily paintings on canvas / cloth, with colored oils. This is a technique which was popularized by Raja Ravi Varma. In the 18th century, these kinds of paintings were brought into much prevalence. He focused his work around epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and several other epics. He also penned down great works containing lord Krishna. The oil paintings always gave the painting a ‘live’ impression. The glossy finish made the painting look real. Raja Ravi Varma is the proud winner of 1st Prize at the Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. Many people have continued the Oil Paintings even later. Great artists like MF Hussain and others have continued the work done with Oil on Canvas.

India was also a host for several other variants of Indian art paintings. These include Madhubani Paintings; originated in the state of Bihar, these kinds of paintings were patronized by village women who put forth their mind on paintings. These kinds of paintings became very popular and have become an integral part of the Indian community.

Mughal style in Indian art paintings has also gained a lot of importance. These were popularized by the then rulers of India, the Mughals. These were in the time frame of 16th – 19th centuries. The Mughal style of Indian art paintings was primarily focused on Persian and Islamic styles and content. They mastered the work on wildlife, wars / battles, hunting and such social issues.

Similarly, Indian paintings saw an increase in the popularity of Tanjore Paintings. Hailing from Tamilnadu, Tanjore paintings focused on dance and music. The base for Tanjore paintings is primarily wood.

Rajput and Pahari style of paintings are also very popular in Indian art paintings. These primarily belonged to Rajastan and Himachal Pradesh respectively. The Rajput paintings mainly focused on the life of Lord Krishna and epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. Along with these, the Rajput manuscripts had several landscapes portrayed. The Pahari style of painting was inspired by Jayadev’s Gitagovindam.

In brief these are the various Indian art paintings. Starting with the ancient Rock art, emergence of Miniature paintings, the splendid Ajanta and Ellora art work, the usage of Oil and Canvas paintings, the various works of Indian art paintings like Madhubani, Mughal, Tanjore paintings, Rajput and the Pahari style are the primary constituents of Indian art paintings.