Van Gogh beyond The Starry Night: A Woman Walking In A Garden
Indian Miniature Painting is a traditional form of art that has been practiced in India for centuries. It is a highly skilled & intricate art form that involves creating detailed paintings of a small scale. It is characterized by its use of bright colors, intricate patterns, and elaborate detailing.
The earliest Miniature paintings in India can be traced back to the 7th century AD, when they flourished under the patronage of the Palas of Bengal. Buddhists texts and scriptures were illustrated on 3-inch-wide palm leaf manuscripts, with images of Buddhist deities. Pala art was defined by subdued colors and sinuous (curvy) lines, evocative (suggestive) of the murals of Ajanta. While it was Buddhism in the east, it was Jainism that inspired the miniature artistic movement of the Western Indian Style of Miniature Painting.
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With the advent of Persian influences in the 15th century, paper replaced palm leaves. Free from the restrictions of painting on palm leaf, Indian miniatures began to include more intense colors & extensive border embellishments, with the influence of painting styles of Persia and Mamluks under the Ottomans.
- Mughal Influence
Under Emperor Akbar, portraitures documenting palace life and the various achievements of royalty became a prominent feature. After him, Jahangir’s reign saw more refinement and charm in the style along with the introduction of many elements of nature.
- Rajasthani & Pahari
Due to decreased patronage during the reign of Aurangzeb, many artists proficient in Mughal Miniature Art migrated to other princely courts. Subsequently, Rajput miniature painting developed in the modern-day Rajasthan in the 17th-18th century. Unlike the Mughal Miniature paintings, which largely depicted the royal life, Rajasthani Miniatures were focused on the love stories of Lord Krishna as well as the mythological literature of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Source: www.artisera.com
Under the Rajputs, another style that evolved was the Pahari style in the mountain regions between Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. The Pahari school of Miniature Painting is a fusion between Mughal Miniature Art and Vaishnavite stories.
- Deccani Style
Practiced from the 16th- 19th Century in Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Golkonda, and Hyderabad. The style of artwork was a combination of European, Iranian, and Turkish influences & paintings of this era revolved around the text illumination and decoration of the Holy Quran and the Surahs.
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- Miniatures in South India
These were different from the North Indian Schools owing to the heavy use of gold in South Indian paintings. Furthermore, their emphasis was on painting divine creatures than painting the rulers who patronized them.
The painters of these tiny, extraordinary works were craftspeople of the highest order. Often, brushes with only a single bristle would be used to pick out the fine details, and the technique is very refined. From paintings of the Janamsakhis to illustrated biographies of Guru Nanak, from Mughal Empires to early modern India, miniature paintings have expressed and preserved the rich variety of Indian Culture and history.
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