Pahari Painting
Introduction
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ahari painting is the name given to Rajput paintings, made in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir states of India. These paintings developed and flourished during the period of 17th to 19th century. Indian Pahari paintings have been done mostly in miniature forms. Pahari paintings are basically decorative oriental art. There are certain stylistic differences between different sub-schools of Pahari paintings. The stylistic differences are subtle, but in the case of certain sub-schools, the stylistic difference is quite prominent. The art of miniature painting in the Punjab hills known as Pahari painting was influenced to some extent by the Mughal painting of Aurangzeb’s period.
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history
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ahari paintings have been widely influenced by the Rajput paintings, because of the family relations of the Pahari Rajas with royal court at Rajasthan. One can also see strong influence of the Gujarat and Deccan paintings. With the emergence of Bhakti movement, new themes for Indian Pahari paintings came into practice. The Shaiva-Shakta themes were supplemented by argot poetry and folk songs of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. At the same time, the themes of the paintings revolved around love and devotion also. There was also illustration of great epics, puranas, etc. The depiction of Devi Mahatmya manuscript painted at Kangra, in 1552, has been much acclaimed.The Pahari school developed and flourished during 17th-19th centuries stretching from Jammu to Almora and Garhwal, in the sub-Himalayan India, through Himachal Pradesh, and each creating stark variations within the genre, ranging from bold intense Basohli Painting, originating from Basohli in Jammu and Kashmir, to the delicate and lyrical Kangra paintings, which became synonymous to the style before other schools of paintings developed, which reached its pinnacle with paintings of Radha and Krishna, inspired by Jayadev's Gita Govinda. It gave birth to a new idiom in Indian painting, and grew out of the Mughal painting, though this was patronized mostly by the Rajput kings who ruled many parts of the region.
types of pahari painting bilaspur paintings
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ahari paintings are basically decorative oriental art. There are certain stylistic differences between different sub-schools of Pahari paintings. The stylistic differences are subtle, but in the case of certain subschools, the stylistic difference is quite prominent. Pahari paintings are greatly stylized.The stylization implies that aesthetically sound compositional setups and technical methods have been handed down from generation to generation helping to preserve those original compositions through the repetitive process. Pahari paintings of India can be divided into two distinct categories, on the basis of their geographical range, namely: 1.Basohli and Kulu Style (Influenced by Chaurpanchasika style) 2.Guler and Kangra Style (Based on cooler colors and refinement)
ilaspur town of Himachal saw the rise of the paintings in the mid 17th century. The earlier paintings were portraitures that were succeeded by illustrations of the Bhagavata Purana, Ramayana and Ragamala series in the 18th century. Besides these, painters at Bilaspur also executed paintings on coverlets for ceremonies and rituals. Bilaspur was as the centre of painting the seventeenth century. It was overshadowed by Basohli (a state that was neither very rich nor very large).
basohli painting
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he town of Basohli is situated on the bank of the Ravi River in Himachal. This town has produced splendid Devi series, magnificent series of the manifestations of the Supreme Goddess. Apart from that, it is also known for the magnificent depiction of the Rasamanjari text. Artist Devidasa painted it under the patronage of Raja Kirpal Pal. Gita Govinda of 1730 is also believed to have Basohli origin. Geometrical patterns, bright colors and glossy enamel characterize Basohli paintings.
Chamba Paintings
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hamba paintings are quite similar in appearance to Mughal style of paintings, with strong influences of Deccan and Gujarat style also. The Chamba paintings are very authentic and informative social documents of the history of those times. The Chamba paintings also derived inspiration from natural surroundings and are remarkable in their composition. The late 17th century witnessed Chamba paintings of Himachal being dominated by Basohli style, which ultimately gave way to Guler painting tradition. The Chamba style is similar to that of Guler paintings as numerous artists of this school came from Guler.
guler paintings
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uler has the longest tradition in the art of paintings. In the middle of the 18th century, some Hindu painters sought the patronage of the Rajas of Guler in Kangra valley. These painters were trained in the Mughal style. Slowly they developed a style of painting, which has a delicacy and a spirituality of feeling. They were known as the Guler Painters. Guler painters, who had earlier dealt with only on Rajput themes, now began to experiment with Sikh themes like the portraits of Sikh Gurus and Sikh dignitaries. Guler painting is marked by liquid grace and delicacy. The drawing is delicate and precise. The colors which emphasize cool blues and greens are handled with skill. Painting in Guler continued right up to the close of the 19th century.
Garhwal Paintings
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arhwal or Gadhwal is a region and administrative division of Uttaranchal, lying in the Himalayas. Like the Mughal, the Rajasthani and the Kangra paintings, the Garhwal painting too has its own peculiar characteristics. Later, it started reflecting the cruder version of Kangra traditions. Garhwal painting was deeply indebted to the Kangra school. For example, human figures, architectural motifs and landscape were definitely based on the Kangra tradition.Special features of the Garhwal paintings include beautiful women with fully developed breasts, thin waist line, soft oval shaped force, delicate brow and thin nose with definite nose bridge with a warm and cold color range of harmonies.
kangra paintings
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angra painting is the pictorial art of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, a former princely state, which patronized the art. It became prevalent with the fading of Basohli school of painting in mid-18th century.The focal theme of Kangra painting is Shringar (the erotic sentiment). Bhakti cult was the driving force and the love story of Radha and Krishna was the main source of spiritual experience, which was also the base for the visual expression. The Kangra paintings feature flowering plants and creepers, leafless trees, rivulets and brooks.The Kangra artists adopted various shades of the primary colors and used delicate and fresher hues. Kangra paintings depict the feminine charm in a very graceful manner. Facial features are soft and refined.
mandi painting
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andi, one of the larger states, is situated in the middle of Beas valley, surrounded by Kulu, Suket, Bilaspur and Kangra. The paintings in Mandi had their share from Mughal strokes as on the break-up of Mughal empire, the painters who had decorated the Mughal courts saw no appreciation and interest in the eyes of later rulers. Mandi painters portrayed religious legends of Shiva, parts from Bhagwata and Ramayana. Some paintings have been devoted to the actions of ‘Madho Rai’, as Krishna was known in Mandi. The paintings from this part were known for hardness of facial expressions.
kulu painting
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he paintings of kulu are very famous all over the world. The later half of the 18th century is the glorious period for Kulu style paintings. The style followed in the series Ragamala, the Bhagawad Purana and MadhuMalti. Human figures are short but not heavy. They seem to be slow moving and their wide open eyes give them a doll like look. The costumes of females are also different from other style of pahari paintings, particularly in the treatment of scarves (odhanis), which is worn in different way. Female dresses are often dotted. Male costumes are more or less similar to that in other pahari styles, and turban is of Katoch type. This Katoch turban shows an indirect influence of the Kangra style on the Kulu paintings.
nurpur painting
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he paintings of Nurpur style are very famous all over the world. The skilled artists of pahari made very excellent paintings. Nurpur paintings of Himachal Pradesh usually employ bright colors and flat backgrounds. However, in the later periods, the dazzling colors were replaced by muted ones.Today, Nurpur is more famous for its shawls and silk than the fine paintings that once flowed out of its ateliers, yet some remains can be seen on the walls of the temples in the fort. The Nurpur paintings are characterized by tall women who have long limbs particularly below the waist and are always elegantly attired.
mankot painting
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he style prevalent at Mankot in Jasrota district,was closest to Basohli. Both in colour scheme and drawing Mankot and Basohli are so alike that if they did not have inscriptions giving king's and prince's names it would have been impossible to distinguish them. Mankot style was that of the portraiture. But what fascinated the art world were the series illustrated from the text given in Bhagwat purana and Raag Mala. A number of paintings of frolics of Lord Krishna, Krishna Leela and the killing of demons by the lord epitomized with the help of brilliant colours with crimson outer border lines. Lady characters possess narrow heads which gradually line with the straight but pointed noses with large but petaloid eyes. The men cover their heads with turbans.
influence of nature
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hen the migrant artists came and settled in the hill kingdoms they must have been pleased by the beauty of the area. Nature, through rarely the subject matter in their works, plays as a stylized backdrop and flora and fauna of hills often took their miniature shapes in a decorative way within the stylized format. Plum blossoms were often painted with great delicacy. Kangra valley has lots of mango trees and plantains are also grown in this altitude. So we find these in Kangra paintings too. High hills or mountains serve as backdrop only and the view generally is from the valley. Pahari painting showing the view from the high altitude in the mountain to the valley will be rare indeed if not nonexistent. The towns of Kangra and Chamba nestled in the valleys and still do so. So it was quite normal for the artists to have taken this view point. Depiction of nature is often symbolic and the symbolic aspect has been based of classical Indian aesthetics. We can cite the example of the mango tree and the madhavi creeper. Madhavi creeper is often shown being supported by the mango tree.
This simbolizes the relation between man and women. The woman like the flowering creeper is seeking the support of the man, symbolized by sturdy mango tree. This allegory is found in some romantic miniature paintings. Lotus, is a flower often seen in the compositions and some other flowers too are found in the art works. Lotus is a spiritual symbol as well as a romantic one. The artists in the olden times seemed to be quite selective when choosing a flower, a plant or a tree to be introduced in the painting in Pahari schools of art. The landscape painter who paints for the beauty of the landscape is not so selective, and paints whatever tree, bush or flower that grows in natural manner in the area he is painting. Since the pictorial compositions of Pahari schools of art were not landscape paintings, this sweeping view of nature for the sake of nature itself is nonexistent here. The depiction of animals is also interesting. Generally, the animals had been painted when the subject matter of the artwork was connected with that particular animal. In such instances, the animals depicted are a part of the story told in the miniature painting. Domesticated animals like cows, calves, horses, elephants and dogs have been painted with great care when the subject matter of the art work required those animals to be included in the composition.
composition
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hough Pahari schools of art were born out of Rajasthani paintings and Persian miniature paintings, the compositional balance of Pahari painting is different to the compositional balance of Rajasthani schools and Persian schools of miniature paintings, though there are certain similarities. "Pahari paintings" except in certain cases are mainly foreground oriented. The principal figures are placed more or less in foreground of the composition except in some court scenes, and even then the setting is different. There is difference in the division space too, and the horizon is often in a curve line in Pahari paintings, when it is depicted. This is due to a phenomenon in reality. If you look at the horizon flanked by hills from the valley, (for example Kangra valley) the horizon does look curved. Undoubtedly the artists who created those original compositions noticed this and often painted the horizon in this way.
The desire to fill in as many details as possible in the miniature format left the factor of suggestively unexplored in Pahari schools of art.Colour plays an important role in compositions, and the arrangement of contrasting colours is important in the layout of Pahari paintings. The paintings are in opaque tempera technique, so colours flowing into one another creating a merging effect that we find in water colours is not found here. The artists carefully chose the colours that created pleasant contrasts.The paints were and are very often applied in an uniformly flat manner reminding of poster colour compositions but by the excellency of the decorative motifs the lyrical beauty imparted by the decorative pieces even with the flat application of colour by far exceeds the appeal of colour composition of posters. Pahari miniature proves that flat application of colour can effectively create an aesthetic appeal at times. It is important to note that borders are a part of the painting composition in Pahari paintings.