Tanjore Painting

Tanjore/ Thanjavur Painting www.craftcanvas.com

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Table of Contents • About Us • Introduction • Mythology • Material Used • Process of Tanjore Painting • Motifs • Contemporary Adaptations • Additional References • Image Source

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About Us CraftCanvas is a link between rural artisan communities and the urban customer, translating an ages old craft into something that is relevant today. It is based on the idea of contemporizing Indian Handicrafts through a common platform and canvas where stake holders of the craft community like artisans, designers, craft practitioners, etc can come together to create unique products and experiences suited to modern day living.

India has a rich handicraft heritage and we owe this to generations of artisans who have blended tradition, religion, social norms and functionality to bring craft where it is today. However, there has been a significant shift in sensibilities of present-day craft patrons thereby highlighting a need for Handicrafts to adapt to these changes.

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Introduction

Tanjore painting of God

Tanjore painting is a classical South Indian painting style, which was first practiced in the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore) and spread across the adjoining and geographically contiguous Tamil country. The art form is believed to have originated around 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur under the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara Rayas encouraged art, classical dance, music and literature, both in Telugu and Tamil. However, Thanjavur painting, as we know it today, originated in the Maratha court of Thanjavur during the period 1676 to1855.

Thanjavur paintings are characterized by rich, flat and vivid colors, simple iconic composition, glittering gold foils overlaid on delicate but extensive gesso work and inlay of glass beads and pieces or sometimes, precious and semi-precious gems. In Thanjavur paintings, one can see the influence of Deccani, Vijayanagar, Maratha and even European or Company styles of painting.

Thanjavur paintings are panel paintings done on wooden planks, and hence referred to as palagaipadam (palagai = "wooden plank"余 padam = "picture") in local parlance. In modern times, these paintings have become souvenirs for festive occasions in South India as colourful pieces of art to decorate walls, and as collectors' items for art lovers, as also sadly sometimes, dime-a-dozen bric-abracs to be purchased from street corner practitioners. www.craftcanvas.com

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Mythology

Nayaka period paintings in the Peruvudaiyar Koil

Thanjavur has a unique place in the history of Indian painting. It houses the 11th century Chola wall paintings in the Brihadeeswarar temple (Periyakoyil or Pervudaiyarkoyil in Tamil) and also paintings from the Nayak period (many times superimposed on the earlier Chola paintings) dating back to the 16th Century. The fall of the Vijayanagar Empire and the conquest of Hampi in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 CE resulted in the migration of painters who had been dependent on the patronage of the empire. Some of them migrated to Thanjavur and worked under the patronage of the Thanjavur Nayakas. Subsequently, the Maratha rulers who defeated the Thanjavur Nayakas began to nurture the Thanjavur atelier. Needless to say, the artists absorbed the local influences and the individual tastes of their Maratha patrons which helped evolve the unique Thanjavur style of painting. The Thanjavur artists in addition to decorating temples also began painting and decorating the major buildings, palaces, chatrams and residences of the Maratha kings and nobility.

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Materials Used

Gold Leaf and Anilvaal brush

Polishing Stone and Sunnambukallu

The materials used in the Tanjore painting are as follows: • Palagai (Wooden plank): Traditionally, wood of the pazhapazham maram (jack fruit tree) is used as it does not invite termites nor does it rot easily.

Nowadays, plywood is used • Attai (Cardboard) • Gada cloth (Cotton fabric) • Kezhungu passai (Indigenous gum): Gum from a local root is used for sticking cloth to the wooden base • Chukangu powder (A root ground to powder): Used with fevicol to coat the fabric • Sunnambukallu (Calcium carbonate stone): The stone is ground and sieved to fineness and used with chalk powder and gum from the karuvelamaram for coating on cloth • Polishing stone and Emery sheet: To smoothen the coated board in preparation for tracing the image • Red stone: It was used in the past instead of sunnambukallu for embossing. It was mixed with chalk powder and gum. Red stone is believed to be longer lasting than sunnambukallu www.craftcanvas.com

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• Fevicol: Used with chukangu powder to create a maavu (paste) for coating the cloth • Karuvelamaramgondhu (Gum from the babul tree) • Chalk powder: Used in the coating of cloth • Tracing sheet with a template for the painting • Kari (Charcoal dust): Used to create impression of tracing on board • Mai(Soot from vellakannideepam): Used for preliminary outlining with brush. Also used for detailing the gold leaf embossing • Kundan stones: Sourced from Jaipur for the jeweled parts of the painting.

Depending on the demand, precious stones are used instead of kundan • Kannaadi (Glass): Traditionally, glass was cut into required shapes using a diamond cutter. The cut glass, set in lac on a stick is then shaped by rubbing on a stone till it has soft curves. The glass is then placed on a silver plate with colour smeared on it. On heating the silver plate, the colour sticks to the glass.

This coloured glass has better luster as compared to the kundan used today.

Mirror is used for decorating borders. It was earlier made by artisans by setting padarasam (mercury) under clear glass • Lac: Used for fixing glass pieces to sticks for shaping • Gold leaf: A thin film of flattened gold. Made by artisans in the past by beating a gold bit by placing it on a piece of thol (animal skin). In the 1930s and 40s, it was imported from China. Now, gold leaf is procured from Jaipur.

Fake gold leaf is available in Thanjavur and is used by many painters • Scissors: For cutting gold leaf to size • Cloth: for pressing emboss work • Anil vaal brush (Squirrel tail hair brush): Made by the artisan according to required thickness • Poster colors and opaque water colours: When used directly, the colors are stark, creating high contrasts. They are often used with a few drops of mooligai (natural) colours for a slightly subdued rendering

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Process of Tanjore Painting

Fixing of cloth

Tracing the image

Embossing and stone work

Fixing of cloth: A wooden board of required size is procured. A cardboard is placed on the board.

Cotton fabric is stretched and stuck/pasted on the board using kezhangupassai (an indigenous gum). Once the fabric has adhered/attached well to the board, the process of coating the cloth begins.

Coating the cloth board: A maavu (paste) of chukangu powder and fevicol is prepared. Three coats of this paste are applied on the cloth board over a span of ten days allowing for drying time in between coats. This coated area is then rubbed with a smoothening stone and emery sheet to obtain a surface with mild sheen and good texture. Coating of the cloth board helps prevent the painting from damage caused by moisture and heat.

Tracing the image: The painter has templates of religious themes to be used in the paintings. The template is in the form of a tracing sheet with pinpricks on the outlines. This tracing sheet is placed on top of the cloth board and dusted with kari (charcoal dust). The outline is further clearly marked using mai (soot) from a vellakennai (castor oil) lamp using an anilvaal (squirrel tail hair) brush.

Emboss and coloured stonework: A paste made of chalk powder, sunnambukallu and karuvelamaramgondhu is used www.craftcanvas.com

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Gold leaf work

Final painting

to create the relief work. Using a brush, the first layer of the paste is applied to create a raised effect for the designated areas of the work. Once this layer is dry, finer details are painted by using the same paste to create raised patterning. At this stage, the coloured glass or kundan stones are embedded. They are stuck with Fevicol or chukangupaste. Once dried, the embossed areas are covered with gold leaf.

Gold leaf work: Thin gold foil is placed on an embossed area and measured for size. The foil is then cut to shape. Karuvelamaramgondhu is applied on the back and pasted on the embossed area. The leaf is smoothened over the area using a piece of cloth. Using the pointed back of a paint brush, the foil is pressed down to reveal the embossed details. In this manner, all the embossed areas are covered with gold leaf. In summer, the gold leaf takes about three hours to dry on the board. The edges of the shapes are trimmed for excess gold.

Painting: Depending on the grade of the painting, poster colour or poster colour + mooligai (natural) colour or only mooligai (natural) colour is used. Colours are painted and allowed to dry in several coats. Skin tones are applied in stroke gradations to create softness. A fine outlining is done for features. The gold leaf, in some paintings is detailed with black soot or permanent marker for clearer contrasts.

Framing: The painting, once complete is placed inside a teakwood frame with clear glass on top. The local aasari (wood craftsman) makes the frame according to the dimensions of the painting and sends it to the painter. www.craftcanvas.com

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Motifs

Tanjore painting of a Sikh Guru

Tanjore Glass painting of Raja Sarabhoji

Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu Puranas, Sthalapuranas and other religious texts were visualized, sketched or traced and painted with the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture (mostly within an architecturally delineated space such as a mantapa or prabhavali) surrounded by several subsidiary figures, themes and subjects. The composition is static and two dimensional with the figures placed within arches, curtains and decorative borders. The main subject is much larger than the other subjects and occupies the centre of the painting. Include this at the beginning of the motifs. This is the basis of the construction of this painting.

There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects were depicted in Tanjore paintings. Seraphs or angels resembling those in European paintings and Islamic miniatures were also shown flanking the main figure. The figures were painted with bright flat colours except for the face where shading was shown. The shading in Thanjavur art was more to create a feeling of depth than to conform to the European conventions of lighting and perspective. For outlines dark brown or red was usually used. Red was favoured

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for the background, though blue and green were also used. Lord Vishnu, was coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white, and his consort Goddess Sivakami was green. The sky, of course, was blue, but black was also employed on occasions. The portrayal of figures in the paintings was also typical with almost all the figures having rounded faces with almond shaped eyes and smooth, streamlined bodies

Thanjavur glass paintings following the techniques of Chinese reverse glass paintings were popularized during Serfoji II's (Maratha ruler) reign as a cheaper and faster alternative. The paintings were done on the reverse surface of a glass sheet with strips of metal beaten into transparent gaps to simulate the effect of jewellery and precious stones. Most of the paintings were of Hindu deities & saints. Other courtly and secular portraits were also created.

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Contemporary Adaptations

Tanjore painting using new materials by Mitushi Jain

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Additional References • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanjavur_painting • http://www.parikramaholidays.com/pdf/THE-LIVING-ART-OFTHANJAVUR-WITH-PICS.pdf • http://14.139.111.26/jspui/bitstream/1/46/1/A%20Study%20on%20Thanjavur %20Art%20to%20design%20a%20range%20of%20Jelwlry.pdf • http://www.tanjoreart.com/ • http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-art/paintings/tanjore.html/ Image Source • https://4krsna.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/tanjore-paintings-081.jpg • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Rajarajesvaram_Temp le_4-8a.jpg • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Raja_Sarabhoji _of_Tanjore.jpg/800px-Raja_Sarabhoji_of_Tanjore.jpg • http://www.dsource.in/resource/thanjavour-paintings/process/process.html • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Sikh_Gurus_with_Bha i_Bala_and_Bhai_Mardana.jpg • https://www.behance.net/gallery/25450271/Tanjore

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