Santosh Rachuri
Indian style with European influence
Exotic flora and fauna
Sewak Ram, Ishwari Prasad and Ghulam Ali Khan
European influence and Greek and Roman statues
no indian influence
Bengal and Bihar region
various themes - Indian Bazaars + dancers before
Europeans + religious themes (Ganesha)
Unique - mix of South Indian
style with western techniques
Kerala - Raphael of the East
1st indian to use western techniques of perspective
and composition and adapt them to Indian styles
life like paintings
Raja given by Viceroy in an imperial citation
Simple colours
Abanindranath Tagore famous for Arabian Night
Bengal Schoool of Art
series and Bharat mata Paintings
small sized paintings
inspiration from European movement
objects were broken analysed and reassembled
M F Hussain - Personification of Romance series
progressive and bold themes
Founder - Francis Newton Souza
Popular - S H Raza + H A Gada Progressive Artists group
M F Hussain also member
organised first art exhibition 1948
Primarily religious paintings + learnt lot about the
Nayaka Painting - Thiruvarur temple in TN - depicts
the story of Mucukunda, legendary chola king.
Company paintings
Bazaar Paintings
Raja Ravi Varma
Modern Paintings
Cubist style
Indian Paintings
A Jain monastery - 7th Century
Fresco - Secco technique - kind of mural paintings
Themes - Beautiful lotus pond + flowers + dancing
figures +people collecting lotuses from ponds
Ceiling decorated with murals of Jaina tirthanakaras
Brihadisvara Temple - Tanjavur
Corridors painted with Lord Shiva under
the reign of Raja Raja Chola 1008 AD
Portrayed Shiva as Daksinamurti + Tripurantaka
and Nataraja at Chidambaram temple
Virabhadra Temple @ Lepakshi, AP
Virupaksha Temple @ Hampi
Ranganatha Swamy temple @ Sri rangam
Vijayanagara Painting
life & times of the vijayanagara Court
Chitrakala or Varnana
concerns of early man - food, survival in
difficult environment & struggle with
animals; Colours - mineral origin
Earliest - Bhimebetka Rock
shelters -Paleolithic age - figures of animals + linear decorations; hunting
scenes + communal dancing
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Silpa Sastra --> art and architecture --> mural and
miniature paintings
Visnudharmottara Purana - deals with
History interdependence of dance, music & visual arts
Rupabheda - preception of
difference in appearance
Pramana - Valid Perception,
measure & structure
Vatsyayana - Kamasutra - 2nd Century AD Bhava - feelings expressed in forms
Shadanga - 6 limbs of Painting
Lavanya Yojana- infusion of grace
Sadrsya - similarities
Varn ikabhanga - identification &
analysis of colour and hue
30-rock cut chaityas and viharas 200BC-700AD
painted on a coat of plaster applied on the wall of
caves --> pantings executed after plaster dried up
--> survive to this day ?? --> painting material holds
Sittanavasal, TN together pigment and plaster.
Ajantha Caves, Mah UNESCO WH Site
Dinnaga, Buddhist Philosopher 500AD lived here
Caves of the first -Satavahana Period 100BC-100CE
9,10 - chaiityas; 12,13,15- Viharas
Chola Kings
Caves of the second -Vakataka Period - remaining;
Mural Painting images of Buddha + Jataka tales paintings.
Ellora Caves, Mah
influence of Ajantha seen here
Bagh Caves, MP famous painting --> procession of elephants and
dancer and women musicians.
Pallava King - Mahendra Varman 1 -
7th Century AD --> Chitrakara Puli
Panamalai, TN Talagirisvara temple - Panamalai - female figure, leg
bent standing against a wall with umbrella over her
Kailasanath Temple at Kanchipuram - Pallava Art
Santosh Rachuri

Tanjore - Coronation of Rama on wooden executed on books, albums and on perishable

panel of early 19th century material like paper & cloth

Mysore - legacy of Vijayanagara - HIndu deities + epic stories; thin painted according to the rules of mural paintings
brush - all jewellery and archi. features are painted over chalk paste,
to give slightly raised effect of carving and then dry. rest is painted earliest - manuscirpt Astasahasrika
using water colours. Prajnaparamita- during Mahipala 988 AD
spontaneous and vital in opposition
Palas of Bengal - Pioneers of this painting
to heraldic style of Mughal Painting

depicted festivals, mthological Pala Paintings - Buddhist yantras + graphic symbols

subjects and life of Lord Krishna which aid mantras & dharanis (type of ritual speech)

derived from Gujarat school of paintings
Ragamala Series of paintings -
Mewar
Lalita Ragini by Sahibdin 1628 AD
Amber
Ragamala collection of Kumar Sangram Singh,
panited by Virji 1623 AD; primitive, folk style + Marwar
uninfluenced by the Mughal style
notable for colour and impressionist style
+ Prajnaparamita - mother of all the Buddhas =
esoteric knowledge (Mahayana Buddhism)
reached zenith under Akbar and Jehangir
Ain-i-Akbari - scenes of warfare +
hunting + trials of strength
Mughal School
amalgamation of many influences--> landscape
Miniature Paintings details(Far Eastern) + Clouds (Chinese) + mountains
Rajasthani school and water( central Asia)

Bhiravi Ragini - finest example & Rasikapriya - Lord Bundi differ from Mughal by its preference for rigid,
Krishna trying to collect butter from a Gopi and Rajput School stylized and decorative forms
found no butter in the pot.
more Indian than persian
Mughan + Deccani styles
independently developed at the beginning
ALi Raza "the ustad of Delhi" - Bikaner but later influenced by the Mughal style
employed by Raja Karan Singh
Ahmednagar - Hussain Nizam Shah - Tarif-i-Hussain
lively and romantic Shahi and Hindola Raga of about 1590 AD
Deccan Style Bijapur - Ali Adil Shah I - Najum-al-ulum (stars of
centres --> Basholi, Jammu, Kangra and Guler
sciences - influence of Lepakshi mural painting
tonal shading, exquisite backgrounds that merged
with the theme + postures highyly evocative of the Ibrahim II - Musician - Naurasnama author -
moods that were to convey Pahari School commissioned Ragamala paintings

Krishna and Shiva legends Golconda - Quli Qutub Shah - dancing girls in court
painted; famous --> Lady with the Myna Bird
Kangra Paintings --> Twelve Months panting - artist
tried to bring the effect of 12 months on the Hyderabad - miniature showing princess in the
emotions of human beings company of maids; decorative style of painting
Santosh Rachuri
Madhubani
Mithila Region of Bihar

Themes - Hindu deities & epic tales, esp. Krishna &

Social events like weddings

No Space is left empty: gaps filled with paintings of

Patta Chitra flowers, animals,birds and geometric designs
Patta - Cloth + chitra - picture --> Odisha on hand made paper, clothes and canvas
Cloth painting + No pencil or charcoal is used mostly women passed the skill
Brush is used; BG decorated with foliage & flowers GI tag due to confinement to a region
& paintings have intricately worked frame

after painting, coating of lacquer Patua

to give it a glossy finish
Bengal --> a village tradition by telling Mangal
Themes --> Lord Jagannath (Puri) & vaishnava Cult
Kavyas (auspicious stories)
Warli Painting
Patuas - scroll painters - used to go different villages
Warlis - indigenous people - Maharashtra to sing stories in lieu of food or money
close resemblance to Bhimbetka paintings of MP painted on cloth; religious stories
central motif of a chauk surrounded by scenes
portraying fishing, hunting, farming, dances etc.
Kalighat Painting
graphic vocab--> circle, triangle and square

only white pigment is used Bengal around Kalighat temple

made of gum and rice powder Folk Paintings of India
water colours used on paper with brushes
ThangKa made of calf and squirrel hair

religious note + social sentiments & address

customers directly
Sikkim --> Buddhist themes

on cotton canvas + once done ,

Paitkar
often framed in silk brocade

3 types --> 1st - life of Buddha;2nd - buddhist Tribal people of Jharkhand

beliefs; 3rd -offerings for deities or meditation
scroll paintings --> associated with Ma Mansa -
most popular goddess in Bengali household

Common theme - what happens to

Manjusha human life post death

Bhagalpur region of Bihar

Kalam Kari
aka Angika Art (anga - one of the Mahajanapada)
Sri kalahasti and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh
Snake motifs --> hence Snake Painting
Kalam - Pen --> made of sharp pointed bamboo
executed on boxes of Jute and Paper
free hand drawing of subject and
filling in colours entirely by hand

Machilipatnam - more block painting

both use only vegetable colours