Pahari Miniature

Painting
Topics to be discussion in the PPT

 Introduction
 Origin and development
 Study of the Miniature Painting
 Sub-School
 Main features of the Pahari
Miniature painting
Introduction
 Present Area – Punjab , Hariyana , Himachal Pradesh , few areas of
Jammu and Kashmir and Garhwal in Uttar Pradesh
 At that time whole Area was divided in to small states and ruled by Rajput
Kings .
 Many of the Rajasthan Artists settled in Pahari area due to fear of
Mughals .
 Pahari School of Art influence of Rajasthani School and Mughal School

Origine and devlopment

 Pahari school of miniature painting development in hill state of Basohli
situated on the bank of river about 1690 AD
 Leter Guler , Chamba , Mandi , Kangra , Garhwal ,and kullu ,become its
main centres
 Jammu Srinagar , Nurpur, Mankot , Nalgarh and plains of Punjab become
its Sub- centres.
 Aurangzeb was a cruel Mughal ruler he heated painting and music .
 Most Mughal artist to hill where they got shelter and there they invented a
different new style of painting known as Pahari school of miniature painting
 In the beginning ,Pahari school flourished as a folk art .
 When the Mughal artist got patronage from king of that place who were
religious minded it come to be known as Pahari .
 The king of Guler hand friendly relations with Mughal emperors there .
 There can be the possibility that the artist from Guler might have shifted to
Delhi or the Mughal artist might have shifted to Guler
 some scholars consider that due to Aurangzeb cruelty
 Mughal artist might have shifted to Basohli and according to them
 Basohli which flourished under Raja Kripal Pal is the origin place of Pahari
School .
 The under Raja Sansar Chand patronage , finest paintings were created
 Raja Sansar Chand period I consider read to be the GOLDEN PERIOD of
Kangra School
Sub- School of Pahari Miniature Painting
Sub- school Painter Painting

 Basohli Sub-School Krishna with Gopi Manaku

 Guler Sub- School …………………….. …………
 Kangra Sub- School Nand Yashoda and Krishna Nainsukh
 Chamba Sub- chool ……………………… …………
 Garhwal Sub- School ……………………..
………….
 Mandi Sub- School …………………………. ………….
 Dpictionof of
Characteristics women
Pahari School – Face of women are in round faces. Half moon shaped forhed ,
normal
 Deep eyes are long and narrow woman has been shown with large Love loran eyes.
 Normal statured men women .
 Expressive like bow and the chin is sharp
 Linear Beauty – Rhythmic lines have been depicted which are smooth in Nature and
Ajanta like expression and emotions .
 The drawing of eyes are very fine and worth praising .
 Colour Scheme – mostly bright primary colour have been used some colours like red
, blue and yellow ,
 Some mixed colour like pink , green , mauve , grey and Green have also been
beautifully used .
 Golden colour in used in large scale .
 The red coloured border have been used having an Influence of Mughal style .
 Coloure are strong and contrasting in the garments and ornaments
 Golden and silver colour have been used
 The lighting has been shown through silver colour
 Garments – Choli ,lehanga and transparent odhani have been worn by
women , Males have been shown in Pajamas , Turbens , and Angraksha
 Krishna is always shown wearing yellow pitambera .
 Depiction of Nature – Trees colours jongals , Mountains flower , Rivers ,
aquatic Birds etc. have been depicted beautifully .
 In The sky, rainy season colour lightening effects have been nicely painted
 Stylization- Nature has been painted in ornamental style.
 Perspective – Not shown much but still tried to shown
 Romantic Seen – Many romantic seen have been found in Pahari style
 Krishna Symbolizes ‘’ Good ‘’ Hero's and human being.
 Radha Symbolizes soul heroines in many of these paintings
 Subject Matter – the Pahari painting Krishna with Gopi , Krishna Radha is
main them
 This painted theme has been selected from the Geet Govind Series ,
Rasmanjari , Religious , Romantic ,and General seens.
 Series – Bhagwat Gita , Gita Govind ,Bihari Satsai , Barahmasa , Ragmala
, Poetry of Surdash and Tulsi Das
 Infulance – Pahari school of art has Influence of Rajasthani School and
Mughal School .
 Depiction of animals and birds – all the themes like raga ,Ragini,
Rasmanjari, Bhagavata , the Git-Govinda ,
 The Bihari Satasai ,the Baramasa and the Ragamala ,Painted in 1760-70
A.D have been painted with animals and birds like dear, swans, cranes
etc.
 Use of Gold and Silver Colour – the colour scheme is brilliant and golden
colour has been used lavishly .
 The sky has been painted as a narrow band of blue and white at the top
the colours are strong and contrasting .
 The use of gold and silver colour is in the design of garments and
ornaments .
 The lightening has also beautifully shown through silver colour.
 Use of Borders – In some Pahari paintings , we find ornamental borders of
Mughal style .
 The red border are worth noticing in these miniatures.
 Female figures- Faces in profile / women don’t look famine type in
Basohli / in Kangra with round face , back ward slapping forehead with
Nose in single line , Large expressive Eyes , almond calored eyes .
 Ornaments – Traditional ornament like Necklaces, Kum-Kum , anklets,
Bangles and Rings
 Krishna always shown wearing pitamabar ( yellow garments )
 Hand gesture – long tapering fingers ,delicate hands, classical dance
mudras.
 Depiction of animals and Bird – deer swans, Cow ,Elephants and Cranes ,
Crow is also shown near the heroine which symbolizes that hero is near to
come at home .
 Architecture – Marble places, window lattice decorated gates covered
domes
 Perspective – the has not been given much weightage but even then it
does not look improper.
 Painting are based on folk art – the painting of Basohli ( Pahari ) are not
classical but folk in nature .
 The nature as been painted in ornamental style .
 Most symmetric ornamentation has been done which makes it look folk .
Sub- School of Pahari Miniature Painting
Basohli Sub-School
 Tis style came in to existence when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had
restricted all the famous of art in his court in the middle of 17th century
 The court painters moved towards the hilly states .
 The implemented technical coordination of various elements .
 The Mughal style into the art forms previously
 The new form of art tat came into existence was called sub school fully
independent in learning the subject matter in the new paintings, they
included only the specific elements of the Mughal style.
 Topic of Basohli painting
 The painters started making paintings on abstract themes of the literary
volumes such as Ras-Manjari, the Ramayana, Geet Govinda and Raagmala.
 Characteristics of Basohli painting – the painting of this style are almost
square in shape.
 Double storied high towered buildings have been show in the background of
these paintings
 Hilly environment, river, waterfall, clouds, lotus and other flowers have been
used as ornamental elements in the paintings.
 use of strong colour – like red, yellow, green
 Fish shaped Eyes - Lotus shaped round Eyes , chins prominent Nose,pval
face, little plump female body.
 Beautiful effect - created by mixture of blue and yellow, red and blue,
grey,and brown.
 Trademark of basohli painting – beetle wings looking like aprecious stonein
jewellery and droplets of thik white painting given the effect of real pearl and
Ornamentation of the base of the pavilion.
 Krishna with Gopi
 Artist – Manaku
 Century – 1730 AD
 Sub-school – Basohli
 Medium – Tempra ( water colour ) on paper
 Size – horizontal
 Collection – National Museum , New Delhi
 Subject matter – This miniature painting is an illustration of the Gita Govind Series.by jayadev Love of Krishna and Radha has shown the
Relationship between the God and the human being
 Description
 This painting had been painted by Manaku in 1730 and in Basohli style
 In tis painting blue skinned Krishna has painted
 Krishna has been sown singing and dancing with Gopi on the Bank of the River
( Yamuna )
 There are necklaces around his neck made of pearls.
 Down is loins he has worn a yellow colour dhoti
 Five Gopis , well –decorated wit multi colour transparent seeming apparels, have
been sown in many countenances ,doing coquettishness with Krishna
 The face of all of them are similar, charming and wit big eyes.
 Their eyebrows are curved like a bow, sufficient rounded foreheads and long charming
noses are the characteristics of this painting
 In the left side, there is a Gopi who is trying to make something known to other
Gopis,where as in the right side, Radha is standing with folding hands with her female
attendant holding an umbrella in one of her hands.
 Her facial expression and costume are similar to those of other figures.
 In the background have been sown multi-coloured and multi-designed leaves of the
trees.
 The meddle part of the background has been shown in light scarlet colour which
indicates the surface .
 The painting is a unique example of Basohli style of painting.
Feature of Krishna with Gopis painting
 Krishna’s Crown is designed with feathers.
 Gopis are wearing ornaments
 Green beetles Mala with pearl strings they all are wearing
 Krishna is shown in blue colour.
 Costumes are of bright colour .
 Lotus shaped eyes of Gopis
 Bodies are short ( impact of Folk style )
 Hands and feet of the Gopis are decorated with Red colour like dancers
Guler sub- school
 Guler is famous for both type of the painting –individual and subjective .
 It wonderfully inaugurated the mysteriousness and the beauty of women.
 The emotional disposition of Guler’s paintings is not seen even in paintings of the
Mughal style.
Characteristice of Guler sub school
 Extraordinary tenderness in colour, extraordinary execution of work, wonderful
thinness in underlining, emotional delineation and the perspective provide
excellence to Guler’s paintings.
 Fawns, cottony clouds and emotive nature are characteristics of Guler’s paintings.
Kangra Sub-School of Miniature Painting

 Miniature painting of Kangra are glory of Pahari painting .

 In these paintings we can feel smell of the soil of that place .
 Tenderly engraved features of women are pleasing.
 Kangra style was on apex of its excellence in the reign of the king Sansar Chand.
 The pomp and show of the king’s court has been shown with the medium of thin lines and colours.
 The human portraits painted here are natural and beautiful.
Topics of the Kangra painting
 Keshav Das poetry Rashik Priya has been the lovely topic of Kangra-style painters .
 Rasha-krishna have sometimes been painted as a livers-beloved and the other side as an actor-actress .
 The painters of this style have painted the love-stories of Sasi-Punno,Heer-Ranjha and Sohani-Mahiwal and
others.
Characteristics of Kangra School
 Red, yellow and blue basic Colours are placid and decorative.
 Delineation of beautiful margins, ornaments and buildings are praiseworthy.
 Balanced shape of trees and the panoramic, natural scenes, magnificence teeming with the lasves, flowers,
shrubs and hills provide specialty for Kangra-styled paintings.
Famous Painting of Kangra Sub-School
Nand, Yashoda and Krishna with Kinsmen going to Vrindavana
Nand Yashoda and Krishna with kinsmen going to Vrindavana
 Painter – Nainsukh
 Medium – Water colours on paper
 Century – 1785-90 A.D
 Sub-School – Kangra
 Technique – Tempera
 Collection – Nation Museum, New Delhi
 Subject matter – this painting is based on the story of Bhagvat Puran when Nanda,Yashoda and Krishna with kinsmen
migration from Gokul to Vrindavana. Along with relatives and villagers due to the fearof kansa .
 Description
 In this painting the inhabitants of Gokul as well as Nand,Yshoda and
Krishna have been shown going to Vrindavana.
 This miniature painting was painted by Nainsukh during the period 1785-90
A.D
 Based on the Episode of Bhagwat Purana in Painted in kangra style ,
 This painting is tender, placid and bewitching.
 In this painting thirteen human figure have been shown.
 Three of them have been shown swimming in the Yamuna. Rest of the
figures have been shown in various countenances and wearing clothes of
different colours on the other side of the river.
 Krishna has been shown in blue colour.
 Half naked but wearing different ornaments made of gold,and a large
wreath of flower round his neck.
 There is a golden crown on his head.
 He is signalling with hand towards the golden buildings of Vrindavana
peeping out through the clouds; and the inhabitants of Vrindavana, Nand
and Yashoda are looking that side surprisingly.
 All the persons are half naked except Nand and Yashoda.
Another crowned person, who has put on blue-coloured costume is possibly
Balram.
 he is raising one of his hands up signalling towards Vrindavana.
 All the human figures have worn stripped clothes down the loins and their
heads have also been covered with multi-coloured caps.
 On the left bank of the river. There is a bird sitting on a cut stem of a heavy
tree.
 On the other stem has been shown a sitting bird .
 In the right side of the painting is a tree on which have with clouds.
 Through the clouds, the golden buldings of Vrindavana peeping out.
 The ground of the other side of the river has been shown filled with
greenery.
 Chamba Sub-school of miniature painting
 Influence of Basohli school of Art, Folk and Mughal art
 Inordinate bewitching, tender and unusual figures of women give distinct identity to miniature
paintings of Chamba.
 The painters of this style have prominently showed red and blue colours with the co-ordination
of artistry and technique.
 Subject matter - Hindu mythology, Radha-Krishna , Shiva-Parwati ,Yashoda and Krishna
,Krishna –Sudama, Durga saptashati, Yashoda and Krishna, love seens
 Bird and animolas
Garhwal Sub-school of Miniature Painting
 Garhwal style looks like Guler style.
 In the paintings painted here shows charmless of colours, clarity in expression and tenderness
of beauty.
 Systematic painting and too developed symbolic design is the speciality of Hindoor
( Nalagarh ) Art.
Mandi Sub School of Miniature painting
 The painting of Mandi are quite different from the other paintings painted in Pahari sub-
schools, due to its stylistic and subjective speciality.
 The painting of various tantric forms of a goddesses in the speciality of Mandi miniature
painting
 In these paintings, the painters have emphasised inordinate use of dark black, red and blue
colours to improve the dreadfulness of the mysterious form of the goddesses. Bold drow in,
typical costume,