Indian Paintings : Glorious Heritage of India

By: Priyanshu Shrivastava

Indian Painting reflects the glorious culture and heritage of India into incredible variety of colors and styles. Painting in India is a long practiced tradition. This creative form of art inspired generations of artists as their passion or profession.

Indian painting has adopted variety of techniques and styles in its journey to the world of arts. The new techniques and innovations have made it more enriched and versatile. Indian paintings are invaluable visual records of history. We can delve deeper into the periods of history through these indelible pieces of arts. Celebrate the true spirit of India with the potpourri of Indian paintings from the house of ethnic paintings.

Painting was practiced in India from the pre historic times. Various scenes of animal hunting and tribal wars were sculptured in the rocks and caves that came to be known as cave painting. The rock paintings of Bhimbekta are said to be the most archaic of the Indian paintings (5000B.C). The cave paintings of the Ajanta and Ellora are the modified versions of Bhimbekta. A combination of murals and frescos, the paintings spellbind with their aestheticism, meticulousness and workmanship.

The tenets of Indian painting and the various earlier forms of the art are to found in books like ‘Mudraskshaka’, ‘Vishnudharmottara’ and ‘Vinayapitaka’.

The Indian painting has several styles of paintings under its domain. Miniature Paintings are one of the most popular among them. Beautiful images from the epics and mythologies, idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and royal court scenes were depicted on pieces of glass, paper, marble, silk and leather in these paintings.

The paintings were highly appreciated for their rich colors and dazzling effects. The Rajput School of Miniature Paintings, The Deccan School of Miniature Paintings and The Mughal School of Miniature Paintings are sequels to original miniature paintings.

Thangka Paintings are form of Buddhist arts that were imbibed from the Buddhist missionaries of Tibet during the time of emperor Ashoka. The word ‘thangka’ is a Tibetan word meaning paintings on flat surfaces. Thangka paintings were laid out on silk and cotton materials. They could be folded in and rolled out according to the necessity.

Used as scrolls the various thanka paintings find Buddha and Bodhisattva in various meditative postures. ‘Buddha Mandala’, ‘Shakyamuni Buddha’and ‘Maitreye Buddha’ are some popular images that are figured in the paintings. The paintings inspire us to awaken our true spiritual self.

Madhubani Paintings are the exclusive paintings of the ‘Mithila’ region of Bihar. The rural women of ‘Mithila’ used to carve out their aspirations and imaginations in their mud built doors and walls. These came to be known as ‘Madhubani Paintings’. A charming folk art, the humble paintings now adorn the art galleries and cozy domestic interiors. Warli Paintings bring out the customs, beliefs and the lifestyle of the tribal people of Maharastra in bright colors and designs. ‘Pata Chitra’ is the traditional painting form of Orissa.

Deities of Hindu gods and goddesses and mythological figures are portrayed on large sheets of fabrics in this painting. Modern Indian Painting reflects India in the post-colonial era. The paintings can be perceived in the works of Jamini Roy, Mukbul Fida Hussain, S.K Bakre and S.H Raza.