Chapter 05: Later Mural Traditions
Even after Ajanta, very few sites with paintings have survived, which provide valuable evidence to reconstruct the tradition of paintings. It is also noteworthy that sculptures were also plastered and painted. The tradition of cave excavations continued at many places where sculpting and painting were done simultaneously.
Badami
Location: Badami, Karnataka.
Historical Context: Capital of the early Chalukyan dynasty (ruled from 543 CE onwards). The Chalukyas established power in the Deccan after the decline of the Vakataka rule.
Patronage: Chalukya king, Mangalesha, patronized the excavation of the Badami caves. He was the younger son of Pulakesi I and brother of Kirtivarman I.
Cave No. 4: An inscription in Cave No. 4 (dated 578-579 CE) describes its beauty and mentions the dedication of an image of Vishnu. This suggests the cave was excavated in the same era, reflecting the patron's Vaishnava affiliation (hence, popularly known as the Vishnu Cave).
Paintings: Only a fragment has survived on the vaulted roof of the front mandapa.
Subject Matter: Depict palace scenes. One panel shows Kirtivarman (son of Pulakesi I and elder brother of Mangalesha) seated inside the palace with his wife and feudatories, watching a dance scene. Figures of Indra and his retinue are in a corner of the panel.
Stylistic Features: Represents an extension of the Ajanta mural painting tradition to South India.
Sinuously drawn lines.
Fluid forms.
Compact composition.
Demonstrates the proficiency and maturity of artists in the sixth century CE.
Gracefully drawn faces of the king and queen reminiscent of Ajanta's modeling style.
Large eye-sockets, half-closed eyes, and protruding lips.
Contours of different parts of the face create protruding structures of the face itself, allowing artists to create volume with simple line treatment.
Murals under the Pallava, Pandya, and Chola Kings
The tradition of painting extended further south in Tamil Nadu in the succeeding centuries, exhibiting regional variations under the Pallava, Pandya, and Chola dynasties.
Pallava Period (7th Century CE onwards)
Patronage: Pallava kings, who succeeded the Chalukyas in parts of South India, were also patrons of arts.
Mahendravarma I: (Ruled in the seventh century) Responsible for building temples at Panamalai, Mandagapattu, and Kanchipuram.
Mandagapattu Inscription: Mentions Mahendravarma I with titles like Vichitrachitta (curious-minded), Chitrakarapuli (tiger among artists), Chaityakari (temple builder), showcasing his interest in art.
Paintings: Initiated by him, though only fragments remain.
Panamalai: Figure of a female divinity is gracefully drawn.
Rajsimha: Pallava king who patronized paintings at the Kanchipuram temple.
Remains: Only traces depicting Somaskanda (Shiva with Uma and Skanda) remain.
Stylistic Features:
Faces are round and large.
Lines are rhythmic with increased ornamentation compared to earlier periods.
Depiction of the torso remains like the earlier sculptural tradition but is elongated.
Pandya Period (9th Century CE onwards)
Patronage: Pandyas also patronized art after coming to power.
Surviving Examples: Tirumalaipuram caves and Jaina caves at Sittanvasal.
Tirumalaipuram: A few fragmented layers of paintings are visible.
Sittanavasal: Paintings are visible on the ceilings of shrines, in verandas, and on the brackets.
Subject Matter: Dancing figures of celestial nymphs seen on veranda pillars.
Stylistic Features:
Contours are firmly drawn and painted in vermilion red on a lighter background.
Body rendered in yellow with subtle modeling.
Supple limbs, expressive faces of dancers, and rhythmic swaying movements demonstrate artistic skill in visualizing forms in architectural context.
Eyes are slightly elongated and at times protrude off the face. This feature is observed in many subsequent paintings in the Deccan and South India.
Chola Period (9th to 13th Century CE)
Continuity: The tradition of building temples and embellishing them with carvings and paintings continued.
Zenith: Masterpieces of Chola art and architecture appeared in the eleventh century when Chola power reached its zenith.
Key Temples:
Brihadeswara at Thanjavur: Built during Rajaraja Chola's reign.
Gangaikonda Cholapuram: Built during Rajendra Chola's reign.
Darasuram: Built during Rajaraja Chola II's reign.
Chola Paintings:
Seen in Nartamalai, but most important are those in Brihadeswara temple (Thanjavur).
Location: Executed on the walls of the narrow passage surrounding the shrine.
Layers: Two layers of paintings were found:
Upper layer: Nayaka period (sixteenth century).
Lower layer (unveiled after cleaning): Chola period.
Subject Matter: Narrations and aspects related to Lord Shiva (Shiva in Kailash, Shiva as Tripurantaka, Shiva as Nataraja), a portrait of the patron Rajaraja and his mentor Kuruvar, dancing figures, etc.
Stylistic Maturity: Exemplify stylistic maturity with:
Sinuous pre-determined flow of lines.
Supple modeling of figures.
Elongation of the physiognomic features of human figures.
These represent the perfection achieved by Chola artists and a phase of transition.
Vijayanagara Murals (14th-16th Centuries)
Historical Context: After the decline of the Chola dynasty in the thirteenth century, the Vijayanagara Dynasty captured the region from Hampi to Trichy, with Hampi serving as its capital.
Survival: Many paintings survive in a number of temples.
Tiruparakunram (near Trichy): Fourteenth-century paintings here represent the early phase of the Vijayanagara style.
Virupaksha Temple (Hampi): Paintings on the ceiling of its mandapa.
Subject Matter: Narrate events from dynastic history and episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Important Panels: Show Vidyaranya (spiritual teacher of Bukkaraya Harsha) being carried in a palanquin in a procession, and incarnations of Vishnu.
Stylistic Features:
Faces of figures shown in profile.
Large frontal eyes.
Figures have narrow waists.
Lepakshi (near Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh): Glorious examples of Vijayanagara paintings on the walls of the Shiva temple.
Pictorial Language (Evolution):
Faces shown in profile.
Figures and objects rendered two-dimensionally.
Lines become still but fluid.
Compositions appear in rectilinear compartments.
Continuity: These stylistic conventions were adopted by artists in various centers in South India, as seen in the paintings of the Nayaka Period.
Paintings of the Nayaka Dynasty (17th-18th Centuries)
Location: Thiruparakunram, Sreerangam, and Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu.
Thiruparakunram: Paintings from two different periods (14th and 17th century). Early paintings depict scenes from the life of Vardhaman Mahavira.
Subject Matter: Depict episodes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and scenes from Krishna-leela.
Tiruvarur: Panel narrating the story of Muchukunda.
Chidambaram: Panels narrating stories related to Shiva and Vishnu (e.g., Shiva as Bhikshatana Murti, Vishnu as Mohini).
Sri Krishna Temple (Chengam, Arcot District): 60 panels narrating the story of the Ramayana, representing the late phase of Nayaka paintings.
Stylistic Features: More or less an extension of the Vijayanagara style with minor regional modifications.
Figures mostly in profile.
Set against a flat background.
Male figures shown slim-waisted but with less heavy abdomens compared to Vijayanagara.
Artists tried to infuse movement and make the space dynamic (e.g., painting of Nataraja at Tiruvalanjuli).
Kerala Murals (16th-18th Centuries)
Distinctive Style: Kerala painters evolved their own pictorial language and technique, while selectively adopting stylistic elements from Nayaka and Vijayanagara schools.
Influences: Derived cues from contemporary traditions like Kathakali (classical dance-drama) and kalam ezhuthu (ritual floor painting of Kerala).
Color Palette: Use of vibrant and luminous colors.
Figure Depiction: Represent human figures in three-dimensionality.
Location: Mostly on the walls of shrines and cloister walls of temples, and some inside palaces.
Thematic Uniqueness: Narrations are primarily based on episodes from Hindu mythology popular in Kerala. Artists seem to have drawn sources from oral traditions and local versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata for painted narrations.
Key Sites: Over sixty sites with mural paintings found, including three palaces: Dutch palace (Kochi), Krishnapuram palace (Kayamkulam), and Padmanabhapuram palace.
Mature Phase Sites: Pundareekapuram Krishna temple, Panayanarkavu, Thirukodithanam, Triprayar Sri Rama temple, and Trissur Vadakkunathan temple.
Contemporary Mural Traditions
Even today, mural painting on interior and exterior walls of houses in villages or havelis is prevalent across different parts of the country.
These paintings are usually made by women, either during ceremonies or festivals, or as a routine for cleaning and decorating walls.
Examples of traditional forms:
Pithoro: Parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Mithila painting: Northern Bihar's Mithila region.
Warli paintings: Maharashtra.
Simple wall paintings in villages of Odisha, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, or Chhattisgarh.
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