Rajput Painting
The flow of rich stream of painting that has developed in Rajasthan from very ancient times till now can be seen. The drawings engraved by primitive humans in the rock shelters of places named Alaniya, Dara, Bairath of Kota district, Amjhiri Nala of Jhalawar district and Dar of Bharatpur district and the artistic lines engraved on pottery tell the story of the very ancient painting tradition of the state.
Religious symbols like human, animal, bird, sun, moon, bow, arrow, stupa, swastika, thunderbolt, mountain, river etc. are found on the coins received from Rajasthan before Vikram Samvat. Trees and geometric markings are seen on the material obtained from Bairath, Rangmahal and Ahar.
Around the 7th and 8th centuries, Rajputana had a rich tradition of Ajanta painting, but due to the invasion of Arabs, artists from the western region came from Gujarat to Rajputana, who assimilated the local style and gave birth to a new style and the influence of Ajanta style was reversed. Went in.
Jain texts were depicted in large numbers from this new style of painting, hence it was called Jain style. This style was developed by the artists who came from Gujarat, hence it was also called Gujarat style. Gradually there was no difference between Gujarat and Rajputana style. In the 15th century, the influence of the Mughal style began to be seen on it.
As the Rajput rulers established political and matrimonial relations with the Mughal emperor Akbar, and they began to visit the Mughal court, the Mughal influence on Rajput painting increased, thereby ending the predominance of the Rajput style.
Many styles of painting developed in Rajasthan, in which Mewar style, Marwar style, Bundi style, Kishangarh style, Jaipur style, Bikaneri style, Alwar style, Kota style, Nathdwara style, Uniara style, Ajmer style, Dungarpur style, Deogarh style etc. . All these styles can be placed under Rajput painting. Rajput painting is influenced by Mughal and Iranian styles.
Scientific classification of Rajasthani painting was first done by Dr. Anand Kumar Swami in his book 'Rajput painting' in AD 1916. did in. Anand Kumar Swamy, O. Scholars like C. Ganguly, Havel etc. called it Rajput painting while Ramakrishna Das called it Rajasthani art.
Due to Muslim influence, different painting styles developed in this style in different princely states. These styles are distinguished by the texture of the background, the border, the marking of birds, the marking of the costumes, the design of the eyes, the subject matter of the paintings, the beard and the mustache, the cheekbones, the lips, etc.
They can also be classified on the basis of colors. Green color is used more in the paintings of Jaipur and Alwar styles. Yellow color is used more in Jodhpur and Bikaner styles. Blue color is more used in Kota style. Golden color is used more in Bundi style.
White and pink colors are used more in Kishangarh style. They can also be distinguished by the colors of the border stripe. For example, yellow and green borders have been made in Udaipur, pink and green in Kishangarh, red and gold in Bundi and Chanderi and red in Jaipur.
Rajasthani painting can be kept in the following styles and sub-styles from the point of view of study-
Mewar School: Nathdwara style, Deogarh sub-style, Shahpura sub-style, Udaipur style, Sawar sub-style, Bagour hideout's sub-style, Begun-thikane sub-style, Kelwa hideout's sub-style.
Marwar School: Jodhpur style, Kishangarh style, Nagaur sub style, Sirohi style, Bikaner style, Jaisalmer style, Bhinay style sub style, Ghanerao style, Junia style.
Haroti School: Bundi style, Jhalawar style, Kota style.
Dhundhad School: Amber style, Shekhawati style, Uniyara style substyle, Isarda style sub style, Shahpura style, Jaipur style, Alwar style.
Painting of Mewar Pradesh
Udaipur style, Nathdwara style, Deogarh sub style, Shahpura sub style, Chavand, Banera, Bagour, Savar, Begun and Kelwa places of painting come under the painting of Mewar region.
Mewar Style: It is also called Udaipur style. The Shravak Pratikraman of AD 1260 is the first example of the Mewar style, a painted text called Churni. This book is made from palm leaves. Its paintings are like those of Saas-Bahu Temple of Nagda and Mokal Temple of Chittor.
The features of this style are Garuda, nostrils, vertical cleavage of Parwal like eyes, curved and long fingers, abundance of red-yellow color, small chin, predominance of ornaments etc. The Kadamba tree and elephants are prominently marked in Udaipur style. There was a good development of painting in Mewar during the period of Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga, Mirabai, Rana Pratap, Udai Singh, Jagatsingh, Raj Singh, Jai Singh, Amar Singh etc. It reached its peak during the time of Maharana Amar Singh I.
It is also called the golden age of Mewar painting. Bhāt, Rasik Priya painted in AD 1605 in Chavand, Ramayana painted in AD 1648 in Udaipur and Arsha Ramayana, Geet Govind painted in AD 1741 and Bihari Satsai painted in AD 1719 are the main paintings of Udaipur style. Ragamala, Barhamasa, Panchatantra and Rasmanjari painted in Mewar style are also noteworthy.
Nathdwara Style: In AD 1670, with the deity of Shrinathji, the painting tradition of Braj came to Mewar and the Nathdwara style developed by mixing Udaipur style and Braj style. In this style the eyes are made like a deer. Cows are more numbered. Marking of banks of Yamuna, Annakoot, Janmashtami festival etc. is also the main feature of this painting style. Green and yellow are used more in the paintings of this style.
miniature painting style of Mewar: During the period of Maharana Jagatsingh I (AD 1628 to 1652), painting flourished a lot. The Rana of Mewar was a worshiper of Shaivism, but during this period, due to the spread of the Vallabh sect, more paintings related to the life of Shri Krishna were created. Miniature paintings were produced during this period on subjects like Ragmala (E.1628), Rasikpriya (E.1628-30), Geetgovind (E.1629), Bhagavad Purana (E.1648) and Ramayana (E.1649). Most of these paintings are preserved in museums at home and abroad.
Devgarh Subgenre: This style was developed by Rawat Dwarkadas Chundawat of Devgarh. It is a subgenre of Mewar style. Thick and straight lines, abundance of yellow colours, figures of men and women suited to Marwar, pictures related to hunting, Goth, etc. are its specialty.
Painting of Marupradesh
The Tibetan historian Taranatha (16th century) mentions a painter named Srirangadhara from the 7th century in the desert. The influence of Jain and Gujarati style is seen in the paintings of Suparshvanatha Charitam written in AD 1422-23. Around AD 1450, one copy each of Gita-Govind and Balagopal-Stuti has been found, in which the initial depiction of Rajasthan can be seen.
Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jaisalmer, Nagaur, Ghanerao and Ajmer styles are also called Marwar painting and Marupradesh painting. The Uttaradhyayan Sutra of Jodhpur style of the time of King Maldev (AD 1532 to 1568) is of great importance. Now this picture is kept in Baroda Museum.
Marwar Style: The Pali Ragamala Chitravali of AD 1623, the Jodhpur style of the 17th century, based on the Sursagar posts, and Rasikpriya, depicting the brightness of colors and ornaments etc. is important. The frescoes of Chaikhelav Mahal in Jodhpur fort were made during the time of King Maldev. These are of marshal type.
Many miniature paintings from the time of King Sur Singh, pictures of Dhola Maru and Bhagwat etc. are also noteworthy. Marwar was particularly influenced by the Nath sect in the nineteenth century. Therefore, the paintings of the monasteries of the Nath sect of the time of Raja Mansingh have also become distinctive. Men of this style are tall, stoutly dressed and with ruffles, high turbans and robes of royal splendor.
The typical Rajasthani lehenga, odhni, red thong etc. have been mainly used in the costumes of women. Yellow color has also been used more in Jodhpur style. Mango trees, crow and horse are seen more in the paintings of this style. Ram-Ravana war, flashing lightning, desert scenes, pictures of folk deities, depictions of Durga Saptashati are also features of this style.
Bikaner Style: Due to the influence of Mughal style in Bikaner style, Tanwangi body has been depicted in female marking. Green, red, purple, purple and gray colors have been used in this painting. The yellow color has also been given prominence. High Marwari turbans with Shahjahan and Aurangzeb style turbans, animals like camels, deer and birds like crow and eagle give an impression of Rajput lifestyle.
The marking of paintings on camel skin is characteristic of this style. In the temples of Bikaner, painters of Matheran, Usta and Chunagar caste created a large number of murals. The pinnacle of the theater of Bhanda Shah's Jain temple and its artistic painting is very attractive.
Nagaur Subgenre: In the Nagaur sub-style, transparent costumes and extinguished colors have been used more. The wooden doors and frescoes of the fort in Nagaur fort and many miniatures made in the hideout of Ghanerao are worth seeing.
Jaisalmer Style: In this style, the face of the beard mustache is made prominently. There is predominance of power and bravery on the face. Mumal is the main painting of this style.
Kishangarh style painting
In Kishangarh style, there is abundance of Radha Krishna's pastimes, bani-thani, colorful groves etc. The nights with stars and moon are beautifully depicted. Men in this style are depicted in tall, single, indigo images, elevated frontal, Arunabha Nayan stretched to the earlobes, white or moongiya turban studded with pearls.
Whereas women are depicted as tall, tall, proud, with pointed cheekbones, lance-shaped necks, emaciated, long lotus-petaled eyes. Swans, ducks, cranes, boats, banana groves and colorful groves make the Kishangarh style different from other styles.
The credit of bringing the painting of Kishangarh to the peak goes to Raja Sawant Singh (AD 1699-1764) who became famous as Nagridas. He was the son of Raja Raj Singh. The name of his beloved was Bani Thani. She was a scholar, a supreme beauty, skilled in music and a poet.
King Nagridas's self-application towards him erupted in the form of poetry. Which gave the painters a vast sky of subject matter, imagination and beauty. The Government of India also issued a postage stamp on Bani-Thani on 5 May 1973. This painting was made in AD 1778 by the painter Nihalchand of Kishangarh.
Painting of Hadoti
The Chauhan dynasty Hadas ruled over Bundi, Kota and Jhalawar areas. For this reason the pictures obtained from these areas come under Hadoti style.
Bundi Style: Most of the animals and birds have been numbered in this style. Peacocks dancing in the rain, monkeys jumping on trees and lions roaming in the forest are the most depicted in paintings of this style. The figures of Bundi style are long, thin body, pectoral girdle of women, round face, chibuk sloping backward and small. White, pink, red, green colors have been used in the painting of nature and architecture.
Marking of Raga-Ragini, Nayika Bhide, Season description, Barhamasa, Krishna Leela, Durbar, Hasti Yuddha, Utsav etc. occupies a prominent place in this style. Golden color has been used more in this style. Along with this, palm trees, ducks and deer have been marked in abundance. Chitrashala (colour paintings) built during the reign of Maharao Umaid Singh is the best example of Bundi painting style.
Quota Style: The Kota style comes from the Bundi style. A multicolored and varied depiction of hunting can be seen in the Kota style. In this style, blue color, palm tree, duck and lion etc. have been prominently marked. The pictures of Shrinathji, Radha-Krishna Leela, Ramlila and majestic splendor are visible in the palaces of Jhalawar. In the State Museum of Jhalawar, there are some Tantric God-pictures on display which have been inscribed in the form of animals and birds.
Tanjore Style: Kota is the richest in terms of mural paintings. Painters from South India also painted murals in Kota. Many paintings of Tanjore style are painted in the buildings of Kota.
Dhundhar's painting
Amber, Jaipur, Alwar, Shekhawati, Uniyara, Karauli, etc. styles come in Dhodhar painting. Jhilai Thikana also comes under Dhundari painting.
Jaipur Style: The use of green color, peepal and banyan trees, peacock and horse have been depicted more in Jaipur style. The influence of the culture of the Mughals and Braj region can also be seen on this painting style. Mughal influence dominates in the chhatris of Amber, the Mughal Gardens of Bairath, the private paintings of Mouzamabad. Ritikaal influence is clearly visible in the paintings of the time of Raja Jai Singh.
इस काल में आदमकद चित्रों की भी परम्परा पड़ी। माधोसिंह (प्रथम) के काल में गलता के मंदिरों, शीशोदिया रानी के महल, चंद्रमहल तथा पुण्डरीक की हवेली में कलात्मक भित्ति-चित्रण हुआ। सवाई प्रतापसिंह के काल में राधाकृष्ण की लीलाएं, नायिका भेद, राग-रागिनी, बारहमासा आदि का चित्रण हुआ।
अलवर शैली: इस शैली में भी जयपुर शैली की सारी विशेषतायें मिलती हैं। कुछ विद्वानों का मानना है कि जयपुर शैली और दिल्ली शैली के मिश्रण से अलवर शैली बनी। हरे रंग के प्रयोग, पीपल एवं वट के वृक्ष, मोर एवं अश्व का अधिक चित्रांकन किया गया है।
इस शैली में वेश्याओं के जीवन का खूबसूरती से अंकन किया गया है। जमनादास, छोटेलाल, बक्साराम एवं नन्दलाल अलवर शैली के प्रसिद्ध चित्रकार थे। अलवर के राजकीय संग्रहालय में अलवर नरेशों द्वारा खरीदे गए बहुमूल्य चित्र संगृहीत हैं।