Folk Paintings

  Madhubani Paintings

• Traditionally done by the women of villages around Madhubani town (Bihar).
• It is also called Mithila Paintings.
• The paintings have a common theme and are usually drawn from religious motifs of the Hindus, including Krishna, Rama, Durga, Lakshmi and Shiva.
• The paintings are also made depicting auspicious occasions like birth, marriage and festivals. Flowers, trees, animals, etc. are used to fill any gaps in the painting.
• Traditionally, these were painted on walls using rice paste and vegetable colours on a base of cow dung and mud.
• With time, the base changed to handmade paper, clothes and canvas.
• Since there was no shading, the paintings are two-dimensional.
• Some of the common features of these paintings include double line border, bold use of colours, ornate floral patterns and exaggerated facial features.
• Since the art has remained confined to a specific geographical area, it has been given GI (geographical indication) status.

Pattachitra Painting

• A traditional painting of Odisha, the name Pattachitra comes from a Sanskrit word patta, which means canvas/cloth and chitra means picture.
• The paintings show a mix of classical and folk elements, with a bias towards the latter.
• The base of the painting is treated cloth while the colours used come from natural sources including burnt coconut shells, hingula, ramaraja and lamp black.
• No pencil or charcoal is used, rather a brush is used to draw the outlines in red or yellow after which the colours are filled.
• The background is decorated with foliage and flowers and the paintings have an intricately worked frame.
• Once the final lines are drawn, the painting is given a coating of lacquer to give it a glossy finish.
• The themes of these paintings are inspired from Jagannath and Vaishnava cult, sometimes from Shakti and Shiva cults also.
• The pattachitra paintings depict images that are similar to the old murals of the State, especially the ones in Puri and Konark.
• Patachitra on palm leaves is known as tala pattachitra.

Patua Art

• The art form of Bengal, Patua art dates back around a thousand years.
• These paintings are done on pats or scrolls
• Traditionally these were painted on cloth and told religious stories
• Today they are painted with poster paints on sheets of paper sewn together, usually to comment on political and social issues.

Paitkar Painting

• Practiced by the tribal people of Jharkhand
• Paitkar paintings or scroll paintings are considered one of the ancient schools of painting in the country.
• This old form of painting has cultural association with Ma Mansa, one of the most popular goddesses in tribal household
• These paintings are linked to the social and religious customs including giving alms and holding yajnas.
• The common theme of Paitkar paintings is ‘What happens to human life post death’.
• Although an ancient art, it is on the verge of extinction given the rate of its decline.

Kalamkari Paintings

• The name comes from kalam, i.e. a pen, which is used to paint these exquisite paintings.
• The pen used is made of sharp pointed bamboo, used to regulate the flow of colours.
• The base is cotton fabric while the colours used are vegetable dyes.
• The main centers for this art are Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
• The images are drawn free hand and the inspiration comes from Hindu mythology.
• Kalamkari painting had its existence even during the Vijayanagara empire.
• It has received GI status.

Warli Painting

• The name of the painting comes from the people who have been carrying the painting tradition that goes back to 2500-3000 BC.
• They are called the Warlis, indigenous people that occupy mainly the Gujarat- Maharashtra border.
• These paintings have close resemblance to the mural paintings of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
• These ritualistic paintings have a central motif of a chaukat or chowk, which is surrounded by scenes portraying fishing, hunting, farming, dances, animals, trees and festivals.
• Traditionally, the paintings are done on walls using basic graphic vocabulary, including a triangle, a circle and a square.
• The base is made of a mixture of mud, branches and cow dung that gives it a red ochre colour.
• For painting only white pigment is used, which is made of a mixture of gum and rice powder.

Thangka Painting

• Presently belonging to Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh region and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Thangka were originally used as a medium of reverence that evoked the highest ideals of Buddhism.
• Thangkas are painted on a base of cotton canvas (white background) with paints made from natural vegetable dyes or mineral dyes.
• The colours used in the paintings have their own significance. For example, red standsfor intensity of passion.

Manjusha Painting

• This art form belongs to Bhagalpur region of Bihar.
• It is also known as Angika art, where ‘ang’ refers to one of the Mahajan Pada.
• Since snake motifs are always present, it is also called snake painting.
• These paintings are generally executed on boxes of jute and paper

Phad Painting

• It is predominantly found in Rajasthan and is a scroll-type art.
• It is religious in nature and comprises drawings of local deities, Pabuji and Devnarayan.
• The subjects have large eyes and round faces.
• They are of pompous and joyful narrative and scenes of procession are common.

Cheriyal Scroll Paintings

• Indigenous to Telangana.
• It is a type of Nakashi art.
• The scrolls are depicted as a continuous story like comics or ballads by the Balladeer community.
• The common themes are Hindu Epics and Puranic stories.
• The artists use the scroll painting to narrate stories along with music, as they move to different places.
• They are often huge in size, going upto 45 ft in height.
• It has been accorded the Geographical Indication status in 2007.

Pithora Paintings

• The paintings are done by some tribal communities of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and are said to serve religious and spiritual purposes.
• They are painted in the walls of the houses to bring peace and prosperity.
• They are drawn on special family occasions as a ritual.
• Depictions of animals are common, especially horses.

Saura Paintings, Odisha

• They are made by the Saura Tribe of Odisha and are similar to Warli paintings.
•  It is essentially a wall mural painting and is ritualistic.
• The Saura wall paintings are generally dedicated to Idital, the main deity of the Sauras.
• The painting is done mostly in white, while the backdrop of the painting is red or yellow.
• The colours are extracted from minerals and plants.
• The human shapes are geometric and stick-like.