The paintings of Rajasthan have an important role in the art and culture of India. The miniature paintings of Rajasthan are very famous since sixteenth century. This is a legend in colors depicting the chivalry and romance of the region. Many schools like Jaipur School, Bikaner School, Marwar School, Bundi School, Kota School and Kishangarh School promoted them in their own style. The religious ceremonies, scenes from great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, kings and court scenes, valleys and gardens, desert scenes are represented in an artistic form.

The miniature paintings of Rajasthan have a strong resemblance with the Mughal art. They are painted on different surfaces like paper, silk cloth and wood and sometimes even on marble and ivory. The colors were extracted from natural minerals, vegetables and precious stones. They were mixed with utmost care for days and months and fine brushes were used to paint to get good quality work. The Amer School and Jaipur School promoted the miniature paintings.

In the Kota and Bundi region the paintings drawn had the pictures like the flowing rivers, thick forests and animal fights. The women are drawn gracefully and they had a structured body with sharp features. The Bani Thani paintings of Rajasthan were promoted by the Kishengarh School. This had a unique style with exaggerated features. This style was patronized by Raja Sawant Singh. This refined form of paintings was introduced by the singer and poet named Bani Thani in his court.

The Bhills in the Choti Ondari village of Inya Parvat was dominated by the paintings that feature bridal chamber, pet animals and birds and men and women at dance, etc. The paintings of Lord Shiva with Ganga flowing from his head, wild animals in the forest, elephants standing before the entrance of the houses are also seen.

The ritual wall paintings of Mewar and Malwa regions are called as Sanjhya. They were painted in the remembrance of the ancestors. The wall is washed with cow dung and ochre and the motifs are made with cow dung and decorated with flowers and leaves and grains like maize and wheat. The ceremony is called is Sanjhya Mandua and is celebrated differently in different places. In Malwa region this art is called as Sanji or Sanjhi.

The Phad paintings of Rajasthan are done on cloth. Bhilwara district of Rajasthan is famous for Phad paintings. The outlines are drawn in black and then the colors are filled. Pichwais is another type of painting done on cloth. This is more sophisticated than Phads. The scenes of folklore are painted with utmost clarity. There are five kinds of Rajput warriors namely Devnarayan, Krishna, Ramdal, Ramdevji and Pabuji and their heroic deeds are displayed in the Phad paintings of Rajasthan.

The painting was usually started on the auspicious day and a ritual of offering coconut to Goddess Saraswati was performed. A virgin girl from the family of the artist is asked to make the first stroke of color. This folk art is very popular all over India.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 02, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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Keywords :
The Paintings of Rajasthan , miniature paintings of rajasthan , jaipur school of art