Indian Medieval Paintings
March 31, 2008
Swami Haridas, Tansen and Akbar in Vrindavan, a leaf
from Jaipur-Kishangarh mixed style, circa A.D. 1750
Miniatures paintings are intricate, small, and meticulously executed with delicate brushwork. They existed in the forms of colorful illuminations (drawings included in a book, especially in medieval manuscripts) or paintings. The fine brush strokes conveyed themes from the Ragas — the musical codes of Indian Classical music.
The Indian miniature artists worked with paper, ivory panels, wooden tablets, leather, marble, cloth and walls. Varied substances were used for coloring, such as minerals, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, vegetables, pure gold, and silver.
Raga Vasanta, Miniature Painting
This painting personifies Raga Vasanta — the melody and the ecstasy of Spring.
Krishna dances blissfully on the banks of Yamuna River. The lady playing a drum decorated with floral pattern is Radha while a gopi (female friend of Krishna) is shown playing castanets. In the background are mango trees, along with plum and peach trees. The white plum blossom is symbolic of spiritual strength and beauty, while the pink peach blossom represents sensuous beauty.
The painting emphasizes sound, form, color and rhythmic movement.
References: Ethnic Paintings, Crafts in India.
Posted in old world
jess@dragonsinn.net
April 1st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Indian women dress the same way still. Interesting.
DB
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:46 am
yes, i guess the traditional Indian dress is a strong identity
i’ve been lagging online a bit — concentrating on the manuscript revision/s front, lol.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Good luck with your book again.
DB
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
aye, thanks. ever ahead :s.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
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April 6th, 2008 at 3:21 am
ooh ok, tnx for the note!
*note to self: is still braindead from coming up with requested material for the book. won’t be celebrating or anything ’til the whole thing is more…confirmed.
this really forces a person to be patient.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
indian art is the most famous art in the world. it is the best art. i am trying to learn indian art.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
all the best! keep going, and keep learning along the way =)
August 17th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!