History of Glass Painting in India
Glass paintings are paintings done on piece of glass which is used as canvas. With this form of painting having existed since ancient Roman period and much earlier under the name reverse glass painting in China, the artists used glass as a medium for painting and for incorporating innovative artistic techniques for introducing creating eye-catching work on back of the glass pieces. As an art form, Glass painting featured both folk and fine arts and with passing time gained wide spread presence in cities like Italy influencing its Renaissance art and increasing its reach to Central Europe’s churches in the 19th century. With this art taking shape of folk art in countries like Moravia, Slovakia, Austria and others, the journey of glass painting took a new turn in 20th century with the use of mixing acrylic and oil paint and in 21st century with a change brought about in the painted themes as per the changing creative thought process happening around the modern world. With the high level of development and changes happening in the world of glass painting globally, how could India be left behind? With other nations adopting glass painting art form at a quick pace, it was initially adopted and used in India to reflect symbolic and cultural figures as well as occurrences of earlier times that depicted painted mythological figures as well as women wearing traditional clothes. With Gujarat being the epicenter of Glass painting in India, this subjective art form came through Chinese artists who settled down near coastal the costal Gujarat region. With further diversity being brought about in this Glass based art form, it emerged as the best option to transform lifeless surroundings to a work of art that could also be preserved for generations at end.
Today, the wide spread use of this art form can be closely observed at many areas as an important means of reflecting people’s history and culture that were practiced at earlier times. Among others, the areas where this art form is highly appreciated and can be seen the most is in churches. Here, this beautifully depicted art work done on glass speaks of the story of bible and Jesus and helps in creating an atmosphere that facilitate prayer among the believers. With these master pieces donning on your walls requiring just a piece of clean glass, quality paints, boundless imagination mixed with some patience, the present day glass painting style that has been adopted speak of incredible achievements made in this artistic world. With the stylish finish gaining prominence through use of gem stones, glitter effects, gold powder, acrylic paints and other means, these striking innovative approaches being brought in modern era of glass painting also shows that there is yet much to explore here that would keep the interest of people in this art form alive for the times to come. Source: http://handicraft.indiamart.com/products/paintings/glass-paintings.html