The Living Art Traditions of India Chapter Notes | Fine Art for Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Introduction

The Significance of Art in Indian Society and the Focus on Minor Arts

• Minor Arts: Definition of minor arts, folk art, tribal art, utility art, ritual art, and craft. These art forms have existed since pre-historic times, examples found in pottery, terracotta, bronze, ivory, etc., from the Indus period. Artistic communities existed in early history, made pottery, jewellery, ritual or votive sculptures, decorated walls and floors. The thin line between art and craft.
• Revival of Handicraft Industry: A new perspective on traditional art forms emerged among modern artists. Post-Independence, the handicraft industry revived and gained a unique identity. Each state and union territory showcased their unique art forms and products in their respective state emporia.
• Painting Tradition: A discussion on different types of painting traditions, including Mithila or Madhubani painting of Bihar, Warli painting of Maharashtra, Pithoro Painting of North Gujarat and Western Madhya Pradesh, Pabuji ki Phad from Rajasthan, Pichhwai of Nathdwara in Rajasthan, Gond and Sawara Paintings of Madhya Pradesh, Pata Chitra of Odisha and Bengal, etc.
• Mithila Painting: Characterised by bright colours, Mithila painting is a folk art tradition that derives its name from Mithila, the ancient Videha and birthplace of Sita. The paintings are largely painted in three areas of the house, the central or outer courtyards, eastern part of the house, and the southern part of the house. Various armed gods, animals or images of women at work are portrayed in the outer central courtyard. The inner verandah has paintings of the family shrine and gods and goddesses. The most extraordinary and colourful painting is done in the kohbar ghar or inner room, where magnificent representations of kohbar, a lotus with a stalk in full bloom, having metaphoric and tantric connotations are painted on freshly plastered walls of the room. The paintings depict episodes from the Bhagvata Purana, Ramayana, stories of Shiva-Parvati, Durga, Kali and Rasa-Lila of Radha and Krishna. Women paint with bamboo twigs and fill the entire space decoratively with elements from nature like birds, flowers, animals, fish, snakes, the Sun and the moon, which often have symbolic intent, signifying love, passion, fertility, eternity, well-being and prosperity.

Warli Painting

The Warli community resides in Northern Maharashtra around the Sahyadri range, and their paintings are called Chowk. Married women of the community create these paintings to mark special occasions. The main figure in Chowk is the mother goddess Palaghat, who symbolises the corn goddess Kansari and is worshipped for fertility. The Panch Sirya Devata, a headless warrior symbolising the guardian of fields, guards her, and the painting is surrounded by everyday life scenes, including hunting, fishing, farming, and mythological stories of animals. Warli paintings are traditionally painted with rice flour on earth-coloured walls using a bamboo stick as a brush.

Gond Painting

The Gond community in Madhya Pradesh worships nature, and their paintings depict animals, humans and flora. The paintings are geometric drawings on the walls of huts, portraying Krishna with his cows surrounded by gopis with pots on their heads, to which young girls and boys make offerings.

Pithoro Painting

Rathva Bhils of the Panchmahal region in Gujarat and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh paint Pithoro paintings on the walls of houses to mark special or thanksgiving occasions. The large wall paintings represent rows of magnificently coloured deities depicted as horse riders. The uppermost section with riders represents the world of gods, heavenly bodies, and mythical creatures, while the lower region depicts the wedding procession of Pithoro with minor deities, kings, goddess of destiny, an archetypal farmer, domestic animals and more.

Pata Painting

Pata or scroll painting is practised in different parts of the country, especially in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and West Bengal. Patuas, or chitrakars, are performers who belong to communities largely settled around Midnapore, Birbhum and Bankura regions of West Bengal, parts of Bihar and Jharkhand. They paint vertically on fabric, palm leaf or paper and narrate stories while performing. Bengal patas comprise the practice of painting on cloth and storytelling, and Puri patas largely comprise the pata. Patuas travel around villages displaying the paintings and singing the narratives that are painted.

Phads of Rajasthan

Phads are horizontal, cloth scrolls painted to honor folk deities of pastoral communities in Rajasthan. These communities consider the safeguarding of their livestock as their primary concern, which reflects in their myths, legends, and worship patterns.

• Bhomias: Bhomias are cattle heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect the community's cattle from robbers and are honored, worshiped, and remembered for their martyrdom. Gogaji, Jejaji, Dev Narayan, Ramdevji, and Pabhuji are some of the most worshiped Bhomias, and their valorous tales are illustrated on the phads.
• Phad banchan: Phads are carried by bhopas, itinerant bards who travel around the area displaying the phads while narrating tales and singing devotional songs associated with these hero-deities in night-long storytelling performances. The bhopa and his companion perform with musical instruments like ravanahattha and veena and employ the Khyal style of singing. A lamp is held against the phad to illuminate images that are being spoken about.
• Joshis: Phads are not painted by the bhopas but by a caste called Joshis, who have traditionally been painters in the courts of the kings of Rajasthan. These painters specialized in court patronized miniature paintings.

Sculptural Traditions

• Dhokra casting: Dhokra or metal sculptures made from lost wax or cire perdue technique is one of the most prominent metal crafts of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Midnapore in West Bengal. The metal craftsmen of Bastar are called ghadwa, which means the act of shaping and creating. Dhokra casting is an elaborate process involving the creation of a mould from black soil mixed with rice husk and kneaded with water. The mould is covered with a second layer of cow dung mixed with clay, and then resin collected from the saal tree is heated in a clay pot till it becomes liquid, to which some mustard oil is added and allowed to boil. The boiling liquid is strained through a cloth, collected and kept in a metal vessel over water. The resin is then taken apart into small pieces, heated slightly over low burning coal, and stretched into fine threads or coils, which are then joined together to form strips. These strips are overlaid on the dried clay form, and all decorative details like eyes, nose, etc., are added to the figures. A receptacle is then made from the same clay and fixed to the lower portion of the image. Saal wood or its coal is preferred as fuel for firing in the furnace, and the moulds are allowed to cool and the clay layer is hammered away to reveal the metal image.
• Terracotta: Terracotta is a more ubiquitous sculptural medium prevalent across the country, usually made by potters. Terracotta pieces are votives, offered to local deities or used during rituals and festivals. They are made from local clay found on riverbanks or ponds and are baked for durability. The terracotta pieces of various regions reflect the local culture, social life, and beliefs.