Tanjore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu. Tanjore art is a natural extension of the skill and dexterity of the Tanjore craftsmen. The art is more skill oriented and it demands a lot of attention on fineness and perfection. The art form dates back to the early 9th Century, a period dominated by the Chola rulers, who encouraged art and literature.
A typical Thanjavur painting would consist of one main figure, a deity, with a well-roun
ded body & almond shaped eyes. This figure would be housed in an enclosure created by means of an arch, curtains etc. The painting would be made by the gilded and gem-set technique - a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight certain aspects of the painting like ornaments, dresses etc.
Paintings were done on materials like wood, glass, mica, exotic media such as ivory, murals and manuscripts. Most of the paintings were of Hindu deities & saints. Other courtly and secular portraits were also created.
The early paintings were embedded with real Diamonds, Rubies and other precious stones. Later, use of semi-precious and artificial stones gained popularity
Thanjavur Paintings are made on canvasses. The Canvas for a Thanjavur painting is usually a plank of wood (originally wood of the Jackfruit tree was used, now it's plywood) over which a layer of cloth is pasted with arabic gum. The cloth is then evenly coated with a paste of limestone and a binding medium and let to dry.
The canvas is now ready for painting. The artist then draws a detailed 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.
Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are used in selected areas like pillars, arches, thrones, dresses, etc. The shine and glean of the gold leaves used by the Thanjavur style paintings lasts forever. Finally, colours are applied on the sketch. In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable dyes, whereas the present day artists use chemical paints which enhance the sharpness and provide better shade
contrasts.
The old Tanjore artists restricted their scope to divine figures and used to mix their natural colours. The modern ones have, of course, no need to do so.
For outlines dark brown is usually used. Red is favoured for the background. Scholars say that a red background is the distinctive mark of Tanjore paintings, but green is also sometimes used. Lord Vishnu, appropriately enough, is coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white. Yellow is used for the Goddesses. The sky, of course, is blue, but black is employed only on occasions. There are conventions in regard to the use of embossing and bejewelling. But these do not appear to be followed very strictly these days, often individual preference settles the matter.
A typical Thanjavur painting would consist of one main figure, a deity, with a well-roun
ded body & almond shaped eyes. This figure would be housed in an enclosure created by means of an arch, curtains etc. The painting would be made by the gilded and gem-set technique - a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight certain aspects of the painting like ornaments, dresses etc.Paintings were done on materials like wood, glass, mica, exotic media such as ivory, murals and manuscripts. Most of the paintings were of Hindu deities & saints. Other courtly and secular portraits were also created.
The early paintings were embedded with real Diamonds, Rubies and other precious stones. Later, use of semi-precious and artificial stones gained popularity
Thanjavur Paintings are made on canvasses. The Canvas for a Thanjavur painting is usually a plank of wood (originally wood of the Jackfruit tree was used, now it's plywood) over which a layer of cloth is pasted with arabic gum. The cloth is then evenly coated with a paste of limestone and a binding medium and let to dry.
The canvas is now ready for painting. The artist then draws a detailed 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.
Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are used in selected areas like pillars, arches, thrones, dresses, etc. The shine and glean of the gold leaves used by the Thanjavur style paintings lasts forever. Finally, colours are applied on the sketch. In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable dyes, whereas the present day artists use chemical paints which enhance the sharpness and provide better shade
contrasts.The old Tanjore artists restricted their scope to divine figures and used to mix their natural colours. The modern ones have, of course, no need to do so.
For outlines dark brown is usually used. Red is favoured for the background. Scholars say that a red background is the distinctive mark of Tanjore paintings, but green is also sometimes used. Lord Vishnu, appropriately enough, is coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white. Yellow is used for the Goddesses. The sky, of course, is blue, but black is employed only on occasions. There are conventions in regard to the use of embossing and bejewelling. But these do not appear to be followed very strictly these days, often individual preference settles the matter.
