Kajol Dave

                 EVOLUTION OF INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTINGS

Miniatures paintings are beautiful handmade paintings, which are quite colorful but small in size. The highlight of these paintings is the intricate and delicate brushwork, which lends them a unique identity. The colors are handmade, from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, pure gold and silver. The most common theme of the Miniature painting of India comprises of the Ragas i.e., the musical codes of Indian classical music. There were a number of miniature schools in the country, including those of Mughals, Rajputs and the Deccan. The evolution of Indian Miniatures paintings started in the Western Himalayas, around the 17th century. These paintings were highly influenced by the mural paintings that originated during the later half of the 18th century.

Miniature paintings in the Mughal Times

Also,It is interesting to note that an exhaustive attention to detail is the main focus of this minute painting.The traditional themes may range from the epic battles depicted in Sanskrit books, the life of the courtiers in the Mogul era or maybe the hunting, entertainment and social activities of different elite who sponsored the artists for their creation.

Miniature paintings in the Mughal times

But, It is a sad fact that many of the beautiful paintings created by lesser-known artists have not been recognised .It is only recently that many of the fine arts and crafts created by different artists have been located in private collections. A closer study and analysis of the work shows a fine understanding of the art of miniatures along with the finesse in craftsmanship. I am sure none of you know even few names of the artist in India who have evolved miniature paintings like Arpita Singh, Ghulam Sheikh and Nilima Sheikh who channel the form of the miniature in their works, there are also young artists like Chitra Ganesh, Dhruvi Acharya and T Venkanna 

"The Ritual," by Arpita Singh, 1989

Did you know that the Indian education encourages studying miniature paintings and the country has established schools to teach the youth of India about its culture, art, beauty and history. The different schools of the Miniature paintings of India include:

• Pala School
• Orissa School
• Jain School
• Mughal School
• Rajasthani School
• Nepali School

 The earliest instances of the Indian Miniature painting are those related to the Pala School and date back to the 11th century.This  school emphasised on the symbolic use of color in the paintings, which was taken from tantric ritual. The other characteristics of the Pala School include the use of a skillful and graceful line, modeling forms by delicate and expressive variation of pressure, use of natural color for painting human skin, etc

The Jain School of Miniature paintings laid great emphasis on style. The unique features of this school include strong pure colors, stylish figures of ladies, heavy gold outlines, diminution of dress to angular segments, enlarged eyes and square-shaped hands. One can see the influence of Jain miniature paintings on Rajasthani and Mughal paintings also.The Jain School of Miniature paintings laid great emphasis on style. The unique features of this school include strong pure colors, stylish figures of ladies, heavy gold outlines, diminution of dress to angular segments, enlarged eyes and square-shaped hands. One can see the influence of Jain miniature paintings on Rajasthani and Mughal paintings also.

I hope more and more people follow our Indian Culture and encourage studying it as well . 

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