Nitin Singhania Test: Indian Paintings- 2 - UPSC MCQ

• Akbar was responsible for the establishment of an entire department devoted to the paintings and scribing of his documents. 

• He established a formal artistic studio called Tasvir Khana where the artists were hired on salary and they developed their own styles. 

• Akbar looked upon paintings as a means of study and amusement. He believed that a painting could show the demeanour of the subject and regularly gave awards to those painters who created lifelike images.

• Akbar also recognised the beauty of those Indian artists who had worked for previous rulers and invited them to work in his tasvir khana. 

• The tenor of the Mughal paintings changed rapidly in the period of Shah Jahan. 

• Unlike his father and grandfather who liked naturalistic depictions, Shah Jahan liked to create artificial elements in the paintings

• It is said that he tried to reduce the liveliness of the paintings and bring in unnatural stillness as he was inspired by the European influence.

• Paintings at Kishangarh is associated with the most romantic legends - Sawant Singh and his beloved Bani Thani, and of the intertwining of lives and myths, romance and bhakti. 

• After surveying earlier developments in Kishangarh, we focus on the interplay between Sawant Singh the prince and lover, Nagari Das the poet, and Nihal Chand the painter who created some of the most legendary paintings by this school.

Dhundhar School of Painting

• The Dhundhar School of painting is also known as the Amber-Jaipur School of painting.

• This school of painting originated in the region of Dhundhar, which includes the cities of Amber and Jaipur in Rajasthan, India.

• The paintings from this school are characterized by their use of bright colors, intricate designs, and themes depicting courtly life, royal processions, and religious scenes.

• The artists of the Dhundhar School were often patronized by the royal families of the region, leading to the development of a distinctive style that combined elements of Mughal, Rajput, and European artistic influences.

• The Dhundhar School of painting flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries, producing exquisite works of art that are highly prized by collectors and art enthusiasts.

• It is based on the Persian miniature painting style. It usually depicts the Mughal emperor and his household. 

• The royal pomp and show, the battles and the hunting scenes are also very popular. They focus either on the person in the picture or on trees, camels and falcons. Time period: 16th to 18th century

• The paintings created in the Pahari School in the 17th century were called the Basholi School. This was the early phase and expressive faces with a receding hairline and big eyes that are shaped like lotus petals characterize it. These paintings use a lot of primary colours, i.e. red, yellow and green. 

• They used the Mughal technique of painting on clothing but developed their own styles and techniques. The first patron of this school was Raja Kirpal Singh who ordered the illustration of Bhanudatta's Rasamajari, Gita Govinda and the Ramayana drawings. 

• The most famous painter of this school was Devi Das who was famous for his depiction of Radha Krishna and the portrait of kings in their livery and in white garments. The contrast of colours is associated with this school and they are borrowed from the Malwa paintings.

• The popular subjects were the Gita Govinda, Bhagwata Purana, Satsai of Biharilal and Nal Damyanti. Love scenes of Krishna was a very prominent theme.

• All the paintings had an otherworldly feel about them. Another very famous group of paintings is the Twelve months' where the artist tried to bring forth the effect of the twelve months on the emotions of human beings. 

• This emotive style was popular till the 19th century, The Kangra school became the parent school to the other ateliers which developed in the region of Kullu, Chamba and Mandi.

• The Thanjavur or Tanjore School is famous for the special style of decorative paintings, The Maratha rulers patronized them during the 18th century. 

• These paintings are unique as they are mostly created on glass and board instead of cloth and vellum preferred in north India. 

• They are unique because of the use of brilliant colour patterns and the liberal use of the gold leaf.

• Art of Bengal, Patua art dates back around a thousand years. It started out as a village tradition by painters telling Mangal Kavyas or auspicious stories of Gods and Goddesses. 

• These paintings are done on pats or scrolls and for generations, the scroll painters or patuas have been going to different villages to sing their stories in lieu of food or money.

• Manjusha Paintings: This art form belongs to Bhagalpur region of Bihar. It is also known as Angika art, where 'ang' refers to one of the Mahajan Pada. Since snake motifs are always present, it is also called snake painting. 

• These paintings are executed on boxes of jute and paper. Phad Painting: It is predominantly found in Rajasthan and is a scroll-type art.