Tanjore/ Thanjavur Painting

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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
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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"; 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-a-
bracs to be purchased from street corner practitioners.

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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

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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

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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.

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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-OF-
THANJAVUR-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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Designed by Surpritkaur Dang

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