Devotion in Colours and Gold: The Art of Tanjore Paintings
Abstract
Tanjore Painting, also known by the name Thanjavur Painting, is an ancient South Indian art form that was named after the city from where it originated. Locally, Tanjore Paintings are also called ‘Palagai Padam’ means picture on a wooden plank as these paintings are crafted on wooden planks. The innovative painting style, vibrant colours, iconic composition and surface richness make Tanjore Paintings unique and popular across the world. Each Tanjore Painting is embellished with glass beads, semi-precious gems and stones, vibrant natural colours and glittering gold foil. All these provide a three-dimensional effect to the painting.The art form got its original inspiration from 1600 A.D., when the Nayaks were under the control of Rayas of Vijayanagar. During this period, Rayas encouraged various forms of classical art, including dance, painting, music and literature. However, the painting style as we know it today is highly influenced by the Maratha court of Tanjore. In 2007-2008, the Government of India recognized Tanjore Painting as a Geographical Indication. The skilled artisans use this painting style to paint the portraits of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in different postures.
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http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 55 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities Devotion in Colours and Gold: The Art of Tanjore Paintings Dr. Ms. S.M. Vimala Assistant Professor of History St. Mary’s College (Autonomous), Thoothukudi Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli Abstract Tanjore Painting, also known by the name Thanjavur Painting, is an ancient South Indian art form that was named after the city from where it originated. Locally, Tanjore Paintings are also called ‘Palagai Padam’ means picture on a wooden plank as these paintings are crafted on wooden planks. The innovative painting style, vibrant colours, iconic composition and surface richness make Tanjore Paintings unique and popular across the world. Each Tanjore Painting is embellished with glass beads, semi-precious gems and stones, vibrant natural colours and glittering gold foil. All these provide a three-dimensional effect to the painting.The art form got its original inspiration from 1600 A.D., when the Nayaks were under the control of Rayas of Vijayanagar. During this period, Rayas encouraged various forms of classical art, including dance, painting, music and literature. However, the painting style as we know it today is highly influenced by the Maratha court of Tanjore. In 2007-2008, the Government of India recognized Tanjore Painting as a Geographical Indication. The skilled artisans use this painting style to paint the portraits of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in different postures. Keywords: Tanjore Painting, Palagai Padam, vibrant colours, gold foil, Nayaks, Vijayanagar, Maratha court of Tanjore Introduction PaintingsasanartformhasflourishedinIndiafromveryearlyperiodsasis evidentfromliterarysourcesandalsofromtheremnantsthathavebeendiscovered. Numerous paintings or isolated paintings, framed drawings and long scroll of paintings,representingacompletelegend.ThanjavurPaintingisaclassicalSouth Indian painting style originated from the town of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. ThanjavurcityhascontributedalottothehistoryofIndianart.Thecityhasbeen theheartofartandarchitectureforcenturies.Thanjavurwasthecapitalofthe Choladynastyfrom9thto13thcentury,andduringthisperiod,Thanjavurreached newheightsinartandarchitecture.TheBrihadeesvaraTempleisthesymbolof thisperiodandhousesseveralwallpaintingsfromtheCholaEmpireandNayaka period.Thanjavurpaintingsarecharacterizedbyrichandvividcolours,simple iconiccomposition,glitteringgoldfoilsoverlaidondelicatebutextensivegesso workandinlayofglassbeadsandpiecesorveryrarelypreciousandsemi-precious gems.InThanjavurpaintingswecanseetheinfluenceofDeccan,Vijayanagar, MarathasandevenEuropeanorCompanystylesofPainting. Art Through the Ages InthepaintingsofPre-historic(Mesolithic)period,musicalinstrumentslike theharpfiguretoshowthatthe,awarenessofcreationofsoundandtheconceptof rhythmhadappeared. ©»º: 13 ]Ó¨¤uÌ: 2 ©õu®: ö\¨h®£º Á¸h®: 2025 P-ISSN: 2321-788X E-ISSN: 2582-0397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.17313557
56 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; Thousandsofyearslater,paintingsappearonthe sealsoftheHarappaCivilization.TheIndusvalley peoplewereveryfondofpainting.Differentkinds offiguresanddesignsweredrawnonearthenwares andutensils.TheIndusvalleypeoplehadachieved agreatskillindrawingthefiguresofmen,animals andvariousotherobjectsofnature. In the paintings of the later period, men are depicted as riding on cattle and elephants, battle scenes, royal processions, men riding garrisoned horses,etc.ThePallavasalsoleftbehindexcellent examples of paintings in temples. The Cholas promotedbothpaintingsandsculptures. TheturbulentconditionsthatexistedinNorthern IndiaduringtheMiddleAgesresultedinanexodus ofartistsandpoetstotheSouth,andtheVijayanagar kingdom fostered a great burgeoning of the arts, particularlyofpaintings.TheVijayanagarartistwas responsible for the development of three distinct schoolsofart–DeccanSchool,Mysoreschooland ThanjavurSchool.The Mysoreschoolreached its zenith during the rule of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar on18th century, whileinThanjavur,the Marathakingsdevelopedadistinctstyleofpainting. Thecreditforthedevelopmentandestablishmentof thisornatestyleof‘TanjorePaintings,’astheyare known,goestoSerfojiMaharajaofThanjavur. History of Tanjore Paintings The roots ofTanjore Paintings are also linked to Thanjavur. The painting style originated and flourished in 16th and 17th centuries. The origin of this classical painting style is linked to the Vijayanagar Empire (1336 A.D. to 1646 A.D.), includingtheareasofTamilNadu,Karnatakaand Andhra Pradesh. The rulers of Vijayanagar were patronsofartandculture.TherootsofthisSouth IndianartformarelinkedtotheMuralArtofthe VijayanagarEmpire. Tanjore Painting was first used for decorating thedoorsandwallsofhomes,palacesandtemples inThanjavur.Theinteriorwallsofthepalaceswere alsopaintedwithdepictionsofvariouseventslikea coronation,battlevictoriesandotherachievements oftherulers.Incontrast,thewallsoftemplesand homes were decorated with murals and paintings involvingreligiousthemesandportraitsofvarious Hindudeities. The remains of these ancient wall paintings are still present on the walls of Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, the capital city of Vijayanagar Empire, Varadaraja Temple, Kamakshi Temple in Kanchipuram, and Lepakshi Temple in Andhra Pradesh. Some of these paintings are also present intheBrihadeeswaraTemple’sGopuramofPeriya KovilinThanjavur. During the reign of Vijayanagar, the Rayas of Vijayanagar administered the kingdom through Nayak Governors. These Governors also administered the outlying states under the supervisionoftheRayaofVijayanagar.Duringthe reignofAchyutappa(1564-1614),theVijayanagar Empire fell, and several philosophers, artists, musicians, and litterateurs migrated to Thanjavur, Madurai and Mysore. Raghunatha Nayak, the son and successor of Achyutappa, was the most successfulNayakrulerandpatronofartandartists. HeestablishedauniqueschoolforThanjavurartists, wholaterevolvedtheTanjorePaintingstyleduring the reign of Marathas. The Maratha rulers were greatpatronsofartandartists.Duringthereignof Serfoji II in Thanjavur, the Tanjore Painting style flourishedintoitscurrentform. Development of Tanjore Paintings During Marathas And British TheroyalMarathaartisansinducedinnovation intothetraditionalTanjorePainting styletomake it more royal and astonishing. They introduced ornamentationofTanjorePaintingsbyusinggesso work,glassbeads,preciousandsemi-preciousgems andgoldfoiltobringouttheglow.Marathaartisans alsointroducedthereverseclasspaintingtechnique into the Tanjore Painting style. Serfoji II’s reign was when Tanjore Painting and other art forms underwentinnovationandgreatlyflourished. AftertheMaratharuleendedwiththedeathof the last Maratha ruler – Shivaji II, the Britishers annexed the state of Thanjavur. The mercantile ChettiarspatronizedtheartforminThanjavurand around South India.Being Shaivites, the Chettiar community encouraged Tanjore Painting with Shaivitethemes.ThemonasteryinKoviloor,Tamil Nadu, has a huge Tanjore Painting depicting the
http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 57 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities livesofall63ShaiviteSaintsorNayanmarsand64 miraclesofLordShiva(ThiruvilaiyadalPuranam). Thanjavur’s Bhimarajagoswami monastery has a large Tanjore Painting of 108 temples of Lord Vishnu.BritisherswhocametothecityofThanjavur also patronized the South Indian art forms and encouragedTanjorePaintingstyle. EvenaftertheendoftheMarathaEmpireandthe overpoweringoftheEastIndiaCompany,theSouth Indianartformreceivedhugepopularity.Afterthe wake of the Mysore wars in 1767-1799, the East IndiaCompanysettledinthestateofThanjavurand greatlypatronizedtheTanjorePaintingstyle. Later in 1773, when the East India Company installed its military base in the city for British troops, the skilled Tanjore artisans illustrated their art for British personnel. The painting style appealed to British taste and sensibility. The BritishersinclinedtowardtheSouthIndianartform andencouragedIndianartisanstoportraydifferent scenesofIndianfestivals,rituals,floraandfaunain Tanjorepaintings. Primary Colours The paintings are characterized by the use of primarycolours,generallyavoidingmixtures,with stylized modelling effects by shading the inside of the contours. Jewels, drapery and architectural elementslikepillarsandcanopiesareslightlyraised asinlowreliefbytheuseofaspecialplastercovered with pure gold-leaf and embedded with semi- preciousstonesindifferenthues.Sometimesgoldcoated silver-leaf was used.Colourful glass pieces and occasionally pearls were used to embellish the Thanjavur painting, which feature gave it an edge over the Mysore painting. The painter himselfproducedthecolours,whichwereprepared alongthelines describedin ancienttexts.Besides minerals,heusedtheleavesandflowersofcertain plants. In modern times, waterproof plywood, whichhastheadvantageofbeingavailableinany sizeisused.Thickbrownpaperorthincardboardis pasted,utilizingmaida(flour)ortamarindseedpaste asanadhesive.The paperisfixed onthe wooden plankwiththehelpofarichpasteoftherequired thickness. Over this paste, unbleached long cloth ormullisspreadsmoothly,avoidingwrinkles.This surfaceis thencoatedwith acombination ofgem Arabic,Frenchchalkpowder,coppersulphateanda littlegopi(yellowpowder).Thustreated,thesurface islaterplayedwitharoundedglass,usuallyapaper –weightorabottle.Toobtainthebestresults,the surface has to be absolutely smooth. Formerly, sketchingcharcoalwasobtainedfromstraighttwigs ofthe tamarindtree, whichwerecut toasuitable sizeandplacedonaheatedirontable.Thecharred twigswerethenusedassketchingcharcoal. Colours of mineral origin were reduced to powderinamortaland,afterbeingsoakedinwater forseveralhours,weremadeintoafinepastebefore being applied. Whenprimary colours were mixed, theyweregroundinthemortarforproperblending, to obtain the distinct colours needed. Brushes for painting were generally made of squirrel’s hair. Thesewereneededfordelicatework.Fordrawing superfinelines,brushesmadeofthepointedbladeof aspecialvarietyofgrasshadtobeused.Today,these conventional stipulations are, however, dispensed with,ifeasierandequallyeffectivealternativesare available. Features of Tanjore Paintings A rough sketch of the picture is drawn with a crayon.Forpicturesoflargerproportions,ifacopyof thestandardpictureisavailable,aperforatedstencil isusedtodrawtheoutline.Thenextstepistodraw thesketchandthenpaintthefarthestobjectssuchas theskyorriver.Theanimalandhumanfigures,their dress and ornaments, need greater attention, and herethetasteandthechoiceofthepaintergenerally revealhis artisticinclinations. It isthe degreeof embellishment that is the distinguishing feature of aThanjavur painting. Hence the importance of the gesso work or gold- covering of portions of jewellery. The gold work is generally taken up in themorning.Whenthepictureandbaseofthegold –foilis moist,so astohold thefoilfirmly.When thefoilextendsbeyondtherequiredmargin,colour isusedtocoverit;thenthegoldcoveredportions areoutlinedinblack.Oncethepaintisdryandthe finishing touches are complete, it is glazed. The paintingnowlooksresplendentbecauseoftheuse ofgoldandtherichnessofthecolours.
58 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; TheThanjavurartistdoesnotregardaportraitas astudyofcharacter-theindividualityofthesubject is identified to a lesser extent than the general decorative effect. In these paintings, the figures are depicted in proportion to their importance; the principal figure therefore is always on a large scale then the rest. Representations of deities underornatecanopieswithfinely-executedpillars, draperies folded in gentle scallops, garlands of ropes,chandeliers,cushionsandfurniture,alllend anauraofopulence.Thedark-huedLordKrishna is sometimes depicted as a fair cherub, indicating Europeaninfluence. Thanjavur paintings date from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19thcentury. They were painted on wood, glass, mica, ivory and on walls.WiththeadventofBritishrule,Englishmen atthekings’courtandmusiciansplayingdifferent instruments were painted along with the main subject. Because the painters were Vaishnavites, thesubjectswereusuallyRama,Krishna,Lakshmi, Narasimha,andsoon.ButtheShaivitesintroduced Uma Maheshwara, Ganesha, Nataraja, Murugan, Meenakshi,ParvatiandotherShaivitedeities.This styleofpaintingslowlydisappearedbecauseofthe timeinvolvedandtheprohibitivecost.Butinrecent times, there is a definite revival and Thanjavur paintings are once again becoming very popular. Eventoday,thereareafewfamiliesbelongingtothe original Raja clan living in Thanjavur, Srirangam andKumbakonamwhocarryonthistraditionalart. Apart from the gem and gold - leaf encrusted paintings of Thanjavur there is a separate though undoubtedly related - tradition of painting on glass,micaandivorywhichwasintroducedaround 18thcentury. The glass paintings, in particular, constituted a difficult genre, as the sequence of steps had to be reversed to achieve the desired result. Thus, after the picture was drawn, it was shadedinfirstandthendecoratedwithgoldleafa process that resulted in a flat, single-dimensional effect, with doll-like figures. But the painting has the vital quality of folk art, which is its major redeemingfeature.Thereisaremarkabledirectness ofexpression,andthemessageandsymbolismare unerring. It is believed that a group of Chinese artists lived and worked for many of the rulers and merchantswhomtheypainted,andglasspaintings arebelievedtohavebeenintroducedintoIndiaas aresultofChineseinfluence.Thethemesofglass paintings were religious or depictions of women orportraitsofpatrons.Thereligiouspaintingsare highly decorative and flat, and the paintings of women heavily stylized. It is in the execution of portraits that an effort was made toinfuse reality, to compliment the subjects of the artist’s work. There is a dignity and even gentleness in treating these subjects. The British influence is evident in the Victorian architecture of the background, the furniture and even oval format. The fact that religiousthemeswereidealforthepoojamadethem instantlypopular,andmostofthetraditionalhomes inTamilNadustillcontainglasspaintingswhichare anintegralpartofthefamilyprayerroom. Conclusion TanjorePaintingstyleisoneoftheoldestSouth Indian art forms that still exist. These paintings weremadewithhumility,ritualpurityanddevotion. Mostly,thesubjectsofthesepaintingsareassociated with Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The art form hasstoodagainstthetestoftimesthroughhistory andwentthrough severalinnovations.The reason it survived through centuries is the adaptability of the painting style to change the format. Even today,TanjorePaintingsstillhaveabroadappeal. The artists have kept the traditional practices and techniquesalive. References 1. AnIntroductiontoIndianArt,(PartI),National CouncilofEducationalResearchandTraining, NewDelhi,2011. 2. Ashok Narang, Indian Society and Culture, MurariLalandSons,NewDelhi. 3. CraftTraditions of India Past, Present and Future, National Council of Educational ResearchandTraining,NewDelhi,2011. 4. Meena Muthiah, Tanjore Painting, Chettinad Publications,Chennai,2007. 5. NandithaKrishna,ArtsandCraftsofTamilnadu, AshokLeylandLtd.,USA,1992.
http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 59 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities 6. Pradeep Chakravarthy, Thanjavur: A Cultural History,NiyogiBooks,2010. 7. Prakash, Tanjore: A Portfolio of Paintings, PrakashPublications,2010. 8. Ramaswami, N.S., Tanjore Paintings – A Chapter in Indian Art History, Kora’s IndigenousArtsandCraftsCentrePublications, 1976. 9. Revathy Girish, Cultural Heritage of India, WisdomPress,NewDelhi,2010.