From the Royal Courts to the World: The Story of Mysore Paintings

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः ॐ श्री शिवानन्दाय नमः ॐ श्री चिदानन्दाय नमः ॐ श्री दुर्गायै नमः 

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Mysore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting that originated in and around the town of Mysore in Karnataka encouraged and nurtured by the Mysore rulers. Painting in Karnataka has a long and illustrious history, tracing its origins back to the Ajanta times (2nd century B.C. to 7th century A.D.)

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The distinct school of Mysore painting evolved from the paintings of Vijayanagar times during the reign of the Vijayanagar Kings (1336-1565 AD) The rulers of Vijayanagar and their feudatories encouraged literature, art, architecture, religious and philosophical discussions.

With the fall of the Vijayanagar empire after the Battle of Talikota the artists who were till then under royal patronage migrated to various other places like Mysore, Tanjore, Surpur, etc.

Absorbing the local artistic traditions and customs, the erstwhile Vijayanagar School of Painting gradually evolved into the many styles of painting in South India, including the Mysore and Tanjore schools of painting.

Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colours, and attention to detail. The themes for most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology.

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History

The fall of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1565 AD and the sack of Hampi in the Battle of Talikota resulted initially in distress for scores of families of painters who had been dependent on the patronage of the empire.

These families of artists, called Chitrakaras, migrated to various pockets of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Some of these surviving paintings are witnessed at Shravanabelagola, Sira, Keregoodirangapura, Srirangapattana, Nippani, Sibi, Naragunda, Bettadapura, Hardanahalli, Mudukutore, Mysore, Chitradurga, Kollegala, Raichur, Hiriyur, Benakanakere, Anegundi, Yalladahalli, Lepakshi and many other places located in Karnataka. 

Raja Wodeyar I (1578–1617 A.D) provided a vital service to the cause of painting by rehabilitating several families of painters of the Vijayanagara School at Srirangapatna.

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The successors of Raja Wodeyar continued to patronize the art of painting by commissioning temples and palaces to be painted with mythological scenes. However, none of these paintings have survived due to the ravages of war between the British on the one side and Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan on the other.

Hyder and Tippu who bested the Wodeyars took over the reins of Mysore for a brief period. However, the artists (Chitrakars) continued to be patronised and flourished under the reign of Tipu and Hyder too.

The Narasimha swamy temple in Seebi on the highway between Tumkur and Sira was built by Nallappa who was in the service of both Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, during Tipu’s reign and has several wonderful wall frescoes in the Vijayanagar style.

This gradually evolved into the Mysore and Tanjore schools of painting. The murals detailing the Battle of Polilur and other painted work at the Daria Daulat Bagh palace of Tipu Sultan in Ganjam, Srirangapatna are also prime examples of the Mysore school of painting.

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After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 AD, the state was restored back to the Wodeyars of Mysore and its ruler Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799-1868 AD) who was contemporaneous with Serfoji II of Thanjavur.

This ushered in a new era by reviving the ancient traditions of Mysore and extending patronage to music, sculpture, painting, dancing and literature.

Most of the traditional paintings of the Mysore School, which have survived until today, belong to this reign. Furthermore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar provided new fillip to the artists of the Mysore school through his Magnum Opus Sritattvanidhi, which would remain the ready reckoner on Mysore style for many years to come.

On the walls of Jagan Mohan Palace, Mysore (Karnataka), the fascinating range of paintings which flourished under Krishnaraja Wodeyar can be seen.

From portraits of the Mysore rulers, their family members and important personages in Indian history, through self-portraits of the artists themselves which Krishnaraja Wodeyar coaxed them to paint, to murals depicting the Hindu pantheon and Puranic and mythological scenes

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Literary and Inscriptional

The most famous of the manuscripts detailing the various nuances of the Mysore school and listing out the various Gods and Goddesses, is the Sritattvanidhi, a voluminous work of 1500 pages prepared under the patronage of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar.

This pictorial digest is a compendium of illustrations of gods, goddesses and mythological figures with instructions to painters on an incredible range of topics concerning composition placement, colour choice, individual attributes and mood.

The ragas, seasons, eco-happenings, animals, and plant world are also effectively depicted in these paintings as co-themes or contexts.

Other Sanskrit literary sources such as the Visnudharmottara Purana,  Abhilasitarthacintamani and Sivatatvaratnakara also throw light on the objectives and principles of painting, methods of preparing pigments, brushes and the carrier, qualifications of the Chitrakar (traditional community of painters) the principles of painting and the technique to be followed.

Materials

The ancient painters in Mysore prepared their own materials. The colours were from natural sources and were of vegetable or mineral substances such as leaves, stones and flowers.

Brushes were made with squirrel hairs for delicate work, but for drawing superfine lines, a brush made of pointed blades of a special variety of grass had to be used.

Due to the long-lasting quality of the stone- and plant-based colours used, the original Mysore paintings retain their freshness and lustre even today.

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Technique & Characteristic

Mysore Paintings are characterized by delicate lines, intricate brush strokes, graceful delineation of figures and the discreet use of bright vegetable colours and lustrous gold leaf.

More than mere decorative pieces, the paintings are designed to inspire feelings of devotion and humility in the viewer. The painter’s individual skill in giving expression to various emotions is therefore of paramount importance to this style of painting.

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The first stage of Mysore Painting was to prepare the ground; paper, wood, cloth or wall grounds were variously used. The paper board was made of paper pulp or waste paper, which was dried in the sun and then rubbed smooth with a polished quartz pebble.

If the ground was cloth it was pasted on a wooden board using a paste composed of dry white lead (Safeda) mixed with gum and a small quantity of gruel (Ganji). The board was then dried and burnished.

Wood surfaces were prepared by applying dry white lead, yellow ochre and gum, and walls were treated with yellow ochre, chalk and gum.

After preparation of the ground a rough sketch of the picture was drawn with crayon prepared from the straight twigs of the tamarind tree. The next step was to paint the furthest objects such as sky, hill and river and then gradually animal and human figures were approached in greater detail.

After colouring the figures, the artists would turn to elaboration of the faces, dress and ornaments including the gesso work (gold covering), which is an important feature of Mysore painting.

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Strokes of Tradition

Known for their elegance and intricacy, Mysore paintings are in dire need of some revival strokes.

Characterised by fine lines, attention to detail and focus on soft expressions, Mysore paintings have their roots in the Vijayanagara empire. Post the disintegration of the empire in the 16th century, it is believed that one set of artists from the k…

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/content/529089/strokes-tradition.html

Watch a Series of Videos on Mysore Paintings Including Tutorials on Google Videos

Mysore Painting is a form of classical South Indian painting, which evolved in the Mysore city of Karnataka. During that time, Mysore was under the reign of the Wodeyars and it was under their patronage that this school of painting reached its zenith.

Quite similar to the Tanjore Paintings, Mysore Paintings of India make use of thinner gold leaves and require much more hard work.

The most popular themes of these paintings include Hindu Gods and Goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. The grace, beauty and intricacy of Indian Mysore Paintings leave the onlookers mesmerized. 

History of Mysore Paintings

It was under the rule of Raja Krishna Raja Wodeyar that the popularity of the Mysore School of painting reached its highest point. However, after the Raja expired in 1868, the artists started scattering and the school reached the point of total extinction.

The year 1875 saw the establishment of Jagan Mohan Palace and Chitrakala School and along with it, the revival of the Mysore Painting of India.

Late Sri Siddalingeswara Swamiji and late Sri Y. Subramanya Raju also contributed to this exquisite art form. 

Centers of Mysore Paintings

Indian Mysore School of paintings exists in Mysore, Bangalore, Narasipura, Tumkur, Sravanabelagola and Nanjangud. 

Making Mysore Paintings

A number of steps are involved in the process of producing a Mysore painting. The first step requires the artist to make a preliminary sketch of the image on the base, which comprises of a cartridge paper pasted on a wooden base.

Thereafter, he makes a paste of zinc oxide and Arabic gum, known as ‘gesso paste’. This paste is used to give a slightly raised effect of carving to those parts of the painting that require embellishments and is allowed to dry.

Then, gold foil is pasted onto the surface. The rest of the painting is prepared with the help of watercolors. After the painting is fully dried, it is covered with a thin paper and rubbed lightly with a smooth soft stone. 

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In the traditional Mysore paintings, all the inputs were made by the artists, including brushes, paints, board, gold foil, etc.

Instead of the poster colors and watercolors of today, vegetable and mineral colors were used. Even the base was formed of paper, wood, wall and cloth, rather than the sole cartridge paper base used now.

The sketches were made with the help of charcoal, which was prepared by burning tamarind twigs in an iron tube. The brushes were made of different materials, like squirrel hair, camel hair, goat hair, etc.

Watch a Series of Videos on Mysore Paintings Including Tutorials on Google Videos