Paintings

Patachitra

The word patachitra is reclaimed from the Sanskrit word pata, usually means a cloth piece, Chitra means painting or picture. Lot of craftsmen skill and hard labor is required to execute fine patachitra.

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Arts & Crafts

Palm Leaf Paintings of Orissa

Etching and painting on palm leaf is one of the most ancient craft forms not only in Orissa but also in the whole country. The birth of this art form, marks the beginning of the dissemination of written words and is therefore, closely intertwined with the literary traditions of the country. While palm-leaf inscriptions and paintings are available in several states of India, it is in Orissa that the craft reached perfection and great excellence. The numerous illustrated manuscripts in the collection of the Orissa State Museum embody the rich artistic traditions of the State. This tradition continues even to-day and thrives among the handicrafts artisans of the State particularly in the districts of Puri and Cuttack.

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Arts & Crafts

Warli Paintings

Maharashtra is home to a large number of tribes, most of which are found residing around the Deccan region. Apart from their distinct culture and lifestyle, the tribal people of the state are also known for making a number of handicrafts. Amongst the popular folk crafts of the tribes are the Warli paintings. They are made by the tribal group of Warli, residing in the Thane district - situated in the northern outskirts of Mumbai.

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Arts & Crafts

Paintings of Madhya Pradesh

The art of painting in India goes back to prehistoric times. Evidence of this is rampant in the astounding cave paintings found in Madhya Pradesh. Drawings on walls of caves and rock shelters served a twofold purpose: decorating homes and appeasing deities. While the adivasis (tribals) of yore traced simple, very basic forms to ward off evil spirits and disease, more sophisticated art survives in the Buddhist rock-carved monasteries of the middle of the first millennium AD, such as Ajanta in Maharashtra and Bagh in MP.

The Rathwa Bhils of MP and eastern Gujarat commonly install a deity in the form of a ritual wall painting within the home. Outside the sacred enclosure other paintings depict incidents from daily life, usually featuring horses.

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Arts & Crafts

Mural Paintings of Kerala

The Murals of Kerala bear the stamp of uniqueness in aesthetic composition and technique. Murals came into vogue in Kerala as early as the 8th century AD.

The most antique Murals of Kerala are found in the Thirunandikkara Cave Temple in Thiruvananthapuram district, now a part of Kanya Kumari district of the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. The temple and palace Murals of Kerala are invariably sagas of Hindu gods and goddesses and visual poems of their heroic deeds.

The Murals in Padmanabhapuram Palace offer a feast of colours and motifs for the connoisseur of art. The triple storeyed 'Uppirikka Malika' houses the retiring chamber of the king and the heir apparent.

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Arts & Crafts

Bamboo Mat Paintings of Kerala

Bamboo mat painting is one of the major craft in Kerala. The artisans initially make mats of required size as canvas and paint on it. Painting on the mat requires more concentration than ordinary painting. Most of the paintings are human and religious figures, animals, birds, scenery etc. in different size and in attractive colours. The products looks beautiful with bamboo reed frames at the top and bottom.

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Arts & Crafts

Mysore Paintings

Mysore paintings are regarded as one of the prominent schools of traditional Indian painting. Traditional Mysore paintings have charmed art aficionados for ages with their bright vegetable dye colors and lustrous gold leaves. Mysore Paintings are similar to the Tanjore Paintings barring the fact that thinner gold leaves are used in Mysore Paintings as compared to Tanjore Paintings.

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Arts & Crafts

Thangka Paintings of Himachal Pradesh

Places with a Tibetan community often sell intricate and brightly coloured cloth paintings called thangkas.
These are actually ritual paintings displayed during certain Buddhist festivals, but they happen to be extremely popular with foreign tourists (and cost the earth too!).
Thangkas are scroll paintings on canvas, edged with a border of rich silk, usually depicting the Buddha and other deities and the wheel of life. The painting follows complex dicta like proportional grids for each diety and traditional vegetable or mineral colours are used.

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Arts & Crafts

Paintings of Haryana

Haryana had been the point of confluence for various tribes, races, invaders, cultures and faiths, antedating to 2500 BC and it witnessed the merging of numerous styles of painting. Discoveries of earthenware and designs painted on them in black and white in Siswal district of Haryana are the first impressions of art in this state. Mitathal and Banwali districts have also revealed that art did exist here, but definitely on a much smaller scale than that of the other regions in India.

Topic
Arts & Crafts