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| Paintings
- Rajasthan has carved a niche for itself in the arena
of painting. Rajasthan's fascinating miniature paintings
are renowned the world over. Rajasthani painting combines
the exuberance of bright primary colors with the vigor
of strong, bold lines. Early paintings illustrated religious
and rhetorical texts such as Bhagavata, Purana, Gita Govinda,
Ramayana and Rangamala. From the mid 17th century, court
portraiture and genre scenes gained in importance. The
style of rajasthani Painting differs from state to state
and from thikana to thikana (minor fiefdom). A variety
of social, religious and ethno-cultural differences gave
rise to many distinct schools, the four major ones being
Mewar, Marwar, Hara (Bundi-Kota) and Dhundhar (Amber-Jaipur).
Several minor ones include Kishangarh, Alwar and Ajmer.
Each school having an inimitable and distinctive style.
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Murals -
All over Rajasthan, one can see brightly coloured murals.
These murals done in the folk art style, depict processions,
battles and folk deities. The murals in the palaces of Bikaner,
Udaipur and Bundi are classical works of art and have been
rendered in the miniature style.
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The
frescoes of Shekawati are world renowned and the region is popularly
termed as an 'Open Air Art Gallery'.
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Phad Paintings - Phad paintings,
depicting the life of Pabuji a local hero, now deified are
predominately red and green coloured long scrolls carried
by the Bhopas. They are unfuried by these itinerant balladeers
of Rajasthan, who narrate in song the legend of pabuji on
auspicious occasions to the accompaniment
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of
the folk instrument 'Ravanhatta'. Made by the joshis of
Shahpura, near Bhilwara, Phads are now also available in smaller
panels portraying single incidents or characters from the
epic.
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Pichhvais
paintings - The
Pichhvais are cloth paintings hung in temples. These Pichhvais
depicting Lord Krishna as Shrinathji in different moods, are
hung behind his image in the temple and changed according
to the season.
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Done
in dark rich hues on rough hand-spun cloth, they have deep
religious roots and are devotionally rendered by the painters.
Today, Pichhvais are being painted in Udaipur and Nathdwara.
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Mandana - It is the folk
craft of decorating houses. Red sand and chalk powder are
used to make designs on floors and walls. This art is quite
popular in the rural areas of Rajasthan. Different types of
square, rectangular and floral
designs are made, suitingsthe
particular seasonor
festival. Several
Mandana motifs
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have started appearing on blockprinted textiles also.
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| Mehndi
- Another popular form of folk art
prevalent among women is mehndi. The use of mehndi (henna)
designs on the palms and feet is symbolic of welfare,
artistic taste and religious attitude. There is hardly
a function or festival in Rajasthan when women do not
apply mehndi. |
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