origin of tanjore painting

The Maratha rule of Thanjavur lasted for almost 2 centuries from the late 16th century. The Thanjavur educate of painting evolved in a period full of political chaos in South India. Thanjavur Paintings flourished beneath the patronage of the Nayak & Maratha princes in the 16th to the 18th centuries. The masterpiece was veteran by 2 main communities that - the Rajus in Tanjore and Trichy(a metropolis near Tanjore) and Naidus in Madurai(a city ruled by Pandiyas) The artists (Rajus & Naidus) who are originally Telugu speaking people from "Rayalseema" region, shook to Tamil Nadu in the wake of the Nayaks rule of Madurai & Tanjore. The paintings were rooted in tradition and innovation was limited. The art was divine to those main craftsmen who choose to be anonymous and menial.
Tanjore Painting is a peculiar, ancient, miniature type of painting labeled afterward the area Thanjavur (cried Tanjore in English) in Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of INDIA. Thanjavur district is famous for various arts and crafts in which paintings are ranked tall in the other arts like Thanjavur Toys, Thanjavur Plates, etc. Its origin dates back to the Nayak & the Maratha period in the 16th century.
What is Thanjavur Painting?
origin of tanjore painting
The canvas is now prepared for painting. The artist then draws a careful sketch of the painting on the canvas. A paste, made of limestone and a binding medium, is used to create 3D effect in embellishing and ornamenting the theme using a brush.
The portrayals of the figures in the paintings are breathtakingly gifted. Almost always the figures have round bodies and almond-shaped eyes, which is distinctive to Tanjore Painting. The traditional Thanjavur artists have a flair for ornamenting the figures with jewellery and ornate dresses. Thanjavur paintings are notable for their adornment in the form of glass chips embedded in portions of them.
How Thanjavur(Tanjore) Paintings are made ?
Paintings were done on matters like wood, glass,danielpalm tree oil painting, mica, foreign medium such for ivory, murals and writings. Most of the paintings were of Hindu deities & angels. Other courtly and secular portraits were also established.
Thanjavur Paintings are made on canvasses. The Canvas as a Thanjavur drawing is commonly a plank of wood (originally wood of the Jackfruit tree was secondhand, immediately it's plywood) over which a floor of cloth is pasted with arabic gum. The fabric is then evenly coated with a paste of limestone and a binding media and let apt dry.
The early paintings were embedded with real Diamonds, Rubies and other precious stones. Later, use of semi-precious and artificial stones gained popularity. There are some examples of this art in the "Saraswathi Mahal Library", in Tanjore, set up & amplified by King - Serfoji II This monarch, who reigned from 1798 to 1832, to whom we owe the "Ganesha shrine" in the "Tanjore Big Temple", played an essential part in the history of the art of his times.
The painting would be shine and colourful and breathtakingly pretty. The clash in a darken room is that of a flickering presence. While maximum of the paintings would depict the Child Krishna and his assorted pranks, paintings of additional deities were also created. Over a period of time alterations have occurred in the stylization - case in point, the figures are no longer round. Presiding deities of manifold outstanding temples are also creature depicted in the paintings. The technique is now more in use than the style.
For outlines dingy brown is usually used. Red is favoured for the backdrop. Scholars say namely a red backdrop is the especial mark of Tanjore paintings, yet green is too occasionally used. Lord Vishnu, suitably enough, is coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja pastel pearly. Yellow is used for the Goddesses. The sky, of course, is blue, merely black is hired only on occasions. There are conventions in regard to the use of embossing and bejewelling. But these do not arise to be emulated quite strictly these days, constantly individual predilection settles the stuff.
Thanjavur paintings basically signify paintings created using a style and technique, which originated in Thanjavur during the Maratha time in the 16th century. A typical Thanjavur painting would consist of one chief figure, a deity, with a well-rounded body & almond shaped eyes. This figure would be housed in one enclosure created by means of an arc, shutters etc. The painting would be made by the gilded and gem-set technique - a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight definite appearances of the painting like ornaments,china oil painting, dresses etc.
Gold leaves and jewels of varied hues are used in elected districts favor pillars, arches, thrones, dresses, etc. The bright and glean of the gold leaves used along the Thanjavur style paintings lasts forever. Finally, colours are applied on the limn. In the past, artists used natural colours favor vegetable pigments, though the present day artists use chemical paints which enhance the sharpness and cater better screen contrasts.
The antique Tanjore artists restricted their range to divine diagrams and used to merge their natural colours. The modern ones have, of course, not absence to do so.
he unique and colourful earth of Thanjavur paintings This school of paintings originated in Thanjavur during the dynasty of the Marathas in the 16th century. It existed from 17th to 19th Century, and had a limited output. Today, this tradition is kept alive by a few hundred devoted artists mostly based in Tamil Nadu, India.