![]() ![]() Much of this art was based on religious themes and episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.Ī sub-form of the miniature was the Pichwai, or the “background painting” often hung behind the idol of Lord Krishna in temples. After the decline of the Mughals, Indian miniature art of the Rajasthani and Kangra schools continued to flourish, patronized by Rajput kings. In Indian miniature art from the 15 th and 16 th centuries we can see the ornate floral and garden motifs of Persian paintings make an appearance, but adapted to Indian flora and fauna, such as lotus flowers, mango and banana trees, and peacocks and monkeys. It helped that the Mughal emperors, beginning from Humayun, actively patronized the arts, drawing many Persian artists to India. One of the most exciting developments in Indian miniature art came around with the Persian influences of the Mughal era. By the time the Mughals came to India, India already had a thriving miniature art tradition from the Rajputana desertscape to the foothills of Himachal Pradesh to the plateau of the Deccan. Many miniature paintings are as small as a large egg and the larger ones are as big as an A4 sized sheet! Miniature art – which originated in the 9 th-10 th centuries – was so small because it was often meant to go on the page to illustrate a manuscript, often a religious epic, legend, or the life of a king. It is only when you actually look at a miniature painting in real life that you understand a.) how tiny these paintings actually are and b.) being tiny doesn’t stop them in any way from being spectacular. Impressive as these large frescoes were, Indian art traditions show that sometimes the microcosm houses entire universes, as in the case of the Indian miniature art form. Cave paintings found their artistic peak in the magnificent frescoes seen in the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra (8 th century) and the vivid ceiling-to-floor paintings of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu (11 th century). The earliest Indian art is prehistoric rock paintings discovered in Mangar Bani in Haryana, estimated to be nearly one lakh years old! Clearly humans in India have been playing with form and colour since a long time. India being the melting pot it is, has always been open to cultural influences from across the world. That’s not all: traditional Indian art forms, especially the classical schools, are quite cosmopolitan, showing influences from Greece, Central Asia, Persia and China. Another special feature of the Indian tradition is that it is unbroken and alive – artisans today still make blue and terracotta pottery like the ones found dating back thousands of years from sites like Mohenjo Daro and painters still practice the miniature art traditions that began before 1000 CE. Instead, they want to create reality in their own distinct flavour, which is what gives traditional Indian art its rich, deep variety. Traditional Indian art forms are rooted in reality – images of animals, plants, and people engaged in work or play predominate – but don’t wish to copy or mime it. ![]() Whether it be the dream-like 2-D universe of Indian miniature art or the geometric stylings of Gond and Warli paintings or the bold comic-book panels of the rare Nakashi style, Indian artistic traditions have always been ahead of the game. Long before Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and other modern masters of Europe began to play with different perceptions of reality, traditional Indian art forms had been stylizing the real for centuries. ![]() Deepa lives and works from Nashik, Maharashtra. Her artworks have been generating a lot of reviews and coverage. In a recent article in Times of India, she says Use of Natural colors including red, blue, yellow, white and black is the main feature of my paintings.”ĭeepa is an emerging artist who has started out strong. ![]() In every one of her artworks, the woman is in the foreground be it the ‘Women I,’ ‘Flowers’ or ‘Enlightenment’ series. She uses vivid colors and uses acrylic on canvas applied with rollers as her paintbrushes. She believes her canvas to be a woven cloth and her drawings to be shown as if painted on the woven fabric. Post her studies she conducted private lessons, and she began doing shows only recently (2016). Raheja School of Art in 1999 and pursued further studies in art at Sindhudurg Kalamahavidyalaya in Kankavli. Deepa graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts from the L.S. She gives credit to her time in Nashik, which spurred the development of the figurative style in her paintings. She specializes in figurative art, and she showcases women in all their glory through her work. ![]()
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