Miniature paintings are one of the many things that make an Indian proud of his country’s rich cultural heritage. Miniature paintings originated long ago in the history of India. Indian paintings can be broadly classified as murals and miniatures. The murals are huge works executed on the walls of solid structures, such as in the Ajanta caves and the Kailashnath temple.
Miniature paintings are executed on a very small scale on perishable material such as paper and cloth. The Palas of Bengal were the pioneers of miniature painting in India. The art of miniature painting reached its glory during the Mughal period. The tradition of miniature paintings was carried forward by the painters of different schools of Rajasthani painting like Bundi, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Marwar and Mewar. Ragamala paintings also belong to this school.
Indian miniature paintings are recognized throughout the world for their beauty, delicacy and impeccable detail. The history of Indian miniature paintings dates back to the 6th-7th centuries AD. C., the time when miniatures from Kashmir first marked their appearance. Miniature paintings have evolved over the centuries with the influence of other cultures. Miniature artists gave their own expression on paper, ivory panels, wood slats, leather, marble, fabric, and walls.
Indian artists employed multiple perspectives unlike their European counterparts in their paintings. The idea was to convey the reality that existed beyond the specific point of view. Some of the special miniature paintings include Jain and Buddhist illustrated manuscripts, the flourishing of Mughal, Rajput and Deccan miniatures. The themes used were from Indian epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvata Purana, Rasikpriya, Rasamanjiri, as well as ragas from Indian classical music, etc.
A miniature painting, as its name implies, is an intricate and colorful illumination or painting, small in size, meticulously executed with delicate brush strokes. Colors used in miniatures are generally derived from natural sources and materials. Some of the paintings use pure gold and other gems and precious stones to bring out the colors and embellish these miniature paintings. India has a long and varied tradition of miniature paintings.
Miniature Art Paintings Themes.
After the Mughal rule, which lasted 200 years, in the second part of the 18th century, the Rajput Maharajahs became independent. They employed these highly skilled artists to replace their own craftsmen, leading to something of a revival of painting in North India. All of Rajasthan divided into numerous princely states, patronized miniature art painting. These states had developed a characteristic style of their own. Paintings from this era have their own unique style, being influenced by their surroundings: deserts, lakes, hills, and valleys, as the case may be. These colorful glimpses of history are provided by these states. paintings depicting hunting and court scenes, festivals, processions, animals and birds, and scenes from Raagmala and Raaslila, the life story of Lord Krishna. In addition, lavishness and prosperity have been courteously displayed.
mughal painting
Mughal painting is a particular style of Indian painting, generally limited to book illustrations and miniatures, which emerged, developed and took shape during the period of the Mughal Empire (16th to 19th centuries). Mughal paintings were a unique blend of Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles. Because the Mughal kings wanted visual records of their exploits as hunters and conquerors, their artists accompanied them on military expeditions or missions of state, or recorded their exploits as animal hunters, or represented them in great dynastic marriage ceremonies. The painters focused mostly on court scenes, royal portraits, natural scenes, and landscapes.
Akbar (1556-1605) was the one who began to animate the Mughal artist. Having consolidated his political power, he built a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri, where he brought together artists from India and Persia. Over a hundred painters were employed, most of whom were Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir. They worked with the two Persian master-artists Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, but were encouraged and inspired by Akbar.
After him, Jehangir encouraged artists to paint portraits and durbar scenes. The most talented portrait painters of him were Abul Hasan and Bishan Das. Shah Jahan (1627-1658) continued his patronage of painting. Some of the famous artists of the time were Mohammad Faqirullah Khan, Mir Hashim, Muhammad Nadir, Bichitr, Chitarman, Anupchhatar, Manohar and Honhar. Aurangzeb had no taste for the fine arts. Due to lack of patronage, artists migrated to Hyderabad in the Deccan and to the Hindu states of Rajasthan in search of new patrons.
rajput painting
The Rajput School of Miniature Painting was inspired by the legends of Krishna. The emphasis was more on the relationship between man and woman and the paintings were an aesthetic portrait of his emotion, love and passion. The love making scenes of Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha are some of the best samples of the paintings. Rajput painting, a style of Indian painting, evolved and flourished during the 18th century in the royal courts of Rajputana, India. Each evolved Rajput kingdom has a distinct style, but with certain common features.
Rajput paintings depict a number of themes, events from epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the life of Krishna, beautiful landscapes, and humans. Miniatures were the preferred medium of Rajput painting, but a number of manuscripts also contain Rajput paintings, and even the walls of palaces, the inner chambers of forts, havelies, in particular the Shekhawat havelis, were painted. The colors extracted from certain minerals, vegetable sources, snails were used, and were even derived from the processing of precious stones, gold and silver. Preparing the desired colors was a long process, sometimes taking weeks. The brushes used were very fine.
Jodhpur School – The center of these handmade paintings are love scenes and then the other figures of art. The Jodhpur School of Miniature Paintings depicts love scenes of lovers Dhola and Maru on camelback. There are hunting scenes with elephants and horses. The main colors used in this style of painting are gold and stone color.
Jaipur School:
Gods and goddesses, kings and durbars are very attractively painted on papers handmade by the artists.
Kangra School:
Real gold, stone and watercolor squirrel hair brushes are used. The shiny effect is amplified with silver and gold colors.
Mewar School of Painting:
These depict hunting scenes that are painted on fabric and handmade paper with stone colours.
Miniature Painting Technique:
A high degree of experience is required as it involves the use of a very fine brush. The strokes must be absolutely perfect, as they must be intricate, colorful and rational impressions. The colors used are mainly derived from minerals, vegetables and precious stones, indigo, shells, gold and silver that are obtained through a meticulous process. Paper painting in miniature art is done on old or new handmade paper of very good quality depicting themes of animals, birds, butterflies, Mughals and more. One can put them as wall hanging ornaments. Miniature paintings made of pure marble slabs featuring themes of mythology, birds, turbans, women, and Mughals can also be used as table tops or wall frames. Miniature painting is a painstaking effort of skill and talent exhibited by Indian craftsmen. They have been well acclaimed and received all over the world.
Step 1 – Choose a design
Step 2: First draw the required pattern on the tracing paper and copy the design onto the fabric/paper using a carbon sheet
Step 3 Now first paint the human figures. Then animals and other components of the image. The background is painted last. This is to set the base color of each area.
Step 4 This step calls for fine brushes to embellish floors, rugs, and the human figure with intricate detail. This also includes techniques such as shading, highlighting, washing,
Step 5 Outline the figures with a darker color and highlight the jewelery and other parts using metallic paints to give an appearance of richness.
Step 6 Burning is the last stage. The miniature art painting is placed face down on a hard surface and an agate stone is used to pat it firmly. This gives the paint an even texture.
To date, Indian and Mughal miniature paintings provide an interesting insight into the lifestyles of previous centuries and continue to fascinate people.