Pahari Painting - Romance Atop Hills
Miniature painting is something that the Subcontinent has been famous for across the globe in terms of art.
In miniature painting, subsequent to the Mughal Style, if there exists any other style, that is the Pahari Style of painting.
The term 'Pahari Painting', for many reasons, got so much popularity that artwork done at the schools other than Pahari, were sold at the market under the label of Pahari Painting.
However, most of the artists involved in carrying out the true Pahari Paintings of Basohli, Chamba, Guler and Kangra were from the courts of Punjab, who sought patronage in the hill states of Himalaya, when the British East India Company took over the courts in Punjab.
The hill states were not vulnerable to the direct invasion of the invaders; as a result, peace and tranquility provided the tradition of painting with the best suitable atmosphere.
Especially from 17th to 19th century AD, it excelled to its zenith.
The hill states were almost twenty-two in number, ruled by Rajput Kings or Chieftains, who were good judges and patrons of art, having their own atelier of artists.
When the Mughals were at power, these Rajput Kings and their courtiers were inured to visit the Mughal Courts, which might have caused the influences of the Mughal style to climb up the hills.
Therefore, when the artists of the Punjab Plain tried to find safe havens in the time of unrest, the hill courts received them warmly.
Those artists, through their art, made the landscape of Himalayan Mountains as fascinating as it could have been perceived.
The patronage of painters by the Pahari Princes, originated the flowering of miniature painting in Nurpur, Basohli, Chamba, Guler, Kangra, Bundi, Kullu and Bilaspur; all important schools of Pahari style of painting.
In the early days at these centers, Pahari Painting with minute differences, evolved from the simple and basic expressions to the absorption of colorfulness and emotional intensity.
Basohli, Chamba, Guler and Kangra schools with many common and distinct features, filed the progress of miniature painting on higher altitude than plains.
The Basohli Painting, due to its enthusiast patrons became immortalized for good.
Even today, Basohli is considered as the metaphor for dynamic, audacious and imaginative style, with unconventional patterns and peculiar facial treatment in primary colours, of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century at the foothills of the western Himalayas in the Jammu and Punjab States.
Another important school in the line was Chamba, situated at the North-West by Jammu and Kashmir while the scintillating Ladakh also located nearby.
Chamba is one of the rare places, which has its history well documented since circa 500 AD, in the shape of temples and artifacts dating back to hundreds of years.
This place, owing to its natural mountainous surroundings, was hard enough to be exposed to the invaders in contrast to the plains; therefore, the peace and stable economy remained a distinctive feature of this place, pivotal for the development of arts and crafts.
Colours, facial expressions and dresses, of the Chamba Style of painting, could be found under great influence of the later Mughal style of miniature painting.
On the other hand, the artists captured the lush green flora of the mountains around.
The Chamba Style declined in the second half of the nineteenth century.
In addition to the evolution of Pahari Painting, Guler Style is considered as the early phase of the Kangra-Kalam.
Historically, artists who, in the middle of eighteenth century, sought asylum and patronage of the Rajas of Guler and Kangra, and were skilled and trained at the Mughal courts, rendered Guler Painting.
Guler, among the hill-states, continued the tradition of painting for the longest period.
Delicacy and grace were the main features of Guler Style while precision in drawing and fresh colours were other unique attributes.
In Guler Painting, hilly landscape was not painted precisely as the background, instead the architecture connected with the scene or activity, absorbed more space and significance.
After Guler, comes the Kangra Style; known for its lyrical and refined line quality.
Kangra Style absorbed many traits of the nearby Guler Style, especially in terms of tones and tinges.
Hindu scriptures were in trend as the theme of the paintings, thanks to the patronage by Hindu Rajas like Sansar Chand; a famous ruler of the Kangra state in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
Furthermore, court scenes were also popular as the rulers, very often, commissioned many artists to paint them in a formal and official style.
Collectively, fish-shaped elongated eyes, oval faces, receding foreheads, round chins and prominent noses of the characters put against the monochromic backgrounds of yellow, red and green colours, caused the Pahari Paintings to become attractive and admirable.
Decorativeness was attained in the landscape of these paintings through trees with a very subtle horizon line in the background.
In Guler of the eighteenth century, naturalistic manner became popular, as slightly cooler and fresh colours were being used, while at one fell swoop, the linearity of the painting tended towards lyrical and free flowing quality.
These elements could be seen overwhelming in the second quarter of the eighteenth century in Guler-Kangra school of Painting, which was marked as the exploitation of green vegetation and graceful female facial exposé.
The feminine beauty, at this juncture of time, could be seen as on its most sensitive height as the young woman figure with all its details, adorned the frame amid the lavish vegetation or colossal Mughal style architecture.
By virtue of refined vegetable extracts and mineral pigments, the skill of the artist and his mastery over the brush finished the surfaces of paintings with a glossy and opaque look.
Like all court paintings of the world, Pahari Painting in its subject matter, depicted the royal life and its associated events, a tradition that was also in fashion in the Mughal Courts, who were influenced by the Persian convention of royalty.
However, at the same time, religious topics in connection with Krishna, Gita and other gods of South Asian Mythology, and their lives were among the most favorite themes.
The epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, secular scripts like Ragmalas, and the love-stories of gods and goddesses and different deities, especially of the Vishnu, which were put in black and white by the poets from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, were painted in abundance in this area.
This practice continued until the end of the nineteenth century when the Britons captured almost the entire subcontinent.
When the Sikhs captured the hill states, the Pahari School of painting came under the patronage of Sikh Courts, who owing to their political priorities and instability in the plains, could not take good care of these schools at the hills.
However, a new style of art, due to the French courtiers of Ranjit Singh's court, developed and evolved in the plains of Punjab, overshadowing the popularity and trend of miniature painting; a style that traveled from Persia to the Mughal Courts and then gloriously it breathed its last, atop hills.
In miniature painting, subsequent to the Mughal Style, if there exists any other style, that is the Pahari Style of painting.
The term 'Pahari Painting', for many reasons, got so much popularity that artwork done at the schools other than Pahari, were sold at the market under the label of Pahari Painting.
However, most of the artists involved in carrying out the true Pahari Paintings of Basohli, Chamba, Guler and Kangra were from the courts of Punjab, who sought patronage in the hill states of Himalaya, when the British East India Company took over the courts in Punjab.
The hill states were not vulnerable to the direct invasion of the invaders; as a result, peace and tranquility provided the tradition of painting with the best suitable atmosphere.
Especially from 17th to 19th century AD, it excelled to its zenith.
The hill states were almost twenty-two in number, ruled by Rajput Kings or Chieftains, who were good judges and patrons of art, having their own atelier of artists.
When the Mughals were at power, these Rajput Kings and their courtiers were inured to visit the Mughal Courts, which might have caused the influences of the Mughal style to climb up the hills.
Therefore, when the artists of the Punjab Plain tried to find safe havens in the time of unrest, the hill courts received them warmly.
Those artists, through their art, made the landscape of Himalayan Mountains as fascinating as it could have been perceived.
The patronage of painters by the Pahari Princes, originated the flowering of miniature painting in Nurpur, Basohli, Chamba, Guler, Kangra, Bundi, Kullu and Bilaspur; all important schools of Pahari style of painting.
In the early days at these centers, Pahari Painting with minute differences, evolved from the simple and basic expressions to the absorption of colorfulness and emotional intensity.
Basohli, Chamba, Guler and Kangra schools with many common and distinct features, filed the progress of miniature painting on higher altitude than plains.
The Basohli Painting, due to its enthusiast patrons became immortalized for good.
Even today, Basohli is considered as the metaphor for dynamic, audacious and imaginative style, with unconventional patterns and peculiar facial treatment in primary colours, of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century at the foothills of the western Himalayas in the Jammu and Punjab States.
Another important school in the line was Chamba, situated at the North-West by Jammu and Kashmir while the scintillating Ladakh also located nearby.
Chamba is one of the rare places, which has its history well documented since circa 500 AD, in the shape of temples and artifacts dating back to hundreds of years.
This place, owing to its natural mountainous surroundings, was hard enough to be exposed to the invaders in contrast to the plains; therefore, the peace and stable economy remained a distinctive feature of this place, pivotal for the development of arts and crafts.
Colours, facial expressions and dresses, of the Chamba Style of painting, could be found under great influence of the later Mughal style of miniature painting.
On the other hand, the artists captured the lush green flora of the mountains around.
The Chamba Style declined in the second half of the nineteenth century.
In addition to the evolution of Pahari Painting, Guler Style is considered as the early phase of the Kangra-Kalam.
Historically, artists who, in the middle of eighteenth century, sought asylum and patronage of the Rajas of Guler and Kangra, and were skilled and trained at the Mughal courts, rendered Guler Painting.
Guler, among the hill-states, continued the tradition of painting for the longest period.
Delicacy and grace were the main features of Guler Style while precision in drawing and fresh colours were other unique attributes.
In Guler Painting, hilly landscape was not painted precisely as the background, instead the architecture connected with the scene or activity, absorbed more space and significance.
After Guler, comes the Kangra Style; known for its lyrical and refined line quality.
Kangra Style absorbed many traits of the nearby Guler Style, especially in terms of tones and tinges.
Hindu scriptures were in trend as the theme of the paintings, thanks to the patronage by Hindu Rajas like Sansar Chand; a famous ruler of the Kangra state in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
Furthermore, court scenes were also popular as the rulers, very often, commissioned many artists to paint them in a formal and official style.
Collectively, fish-shaped elongated eyes, oval faces, receding foreheads, round chins and prominent noses of the characters put against the monochromic backgrounds of yellow, red and green colours, caused the Pahari Paintings to become attractive and admirable.
Decorativeness was attained in the landscape of these paintings through trees with a very subtle horizon line in the background.
In Guler of the eighteenth century, naturalistic manner became popular, as slightly cooler and fresh colours were being used, while at one fell swoop, the linearity of the painting tended towards lyrical and free flowing quality.
These elements could be seen overwhelming in the second quarter of the eighteenth century in Guler-Kangra school of Painting, which was marked as the exploitation of green vegetation and graceful female facial exposé.
The feminine beauty, at this juncture of time, could be seen as on its most sensitive height as the young woman figure with all its details, adorned the frame amid the lavish vegetation or colossal Mughal style architecture.
By virtue of refined vegetable extracts and mineral pigments, the skill of the artist and his mastery over the brush finished the surfaces of paintings with a glossy and opaque look.
Like all court paintings of the world, Pahari Painting in its subject matter, depicted the royal life and its associated events, a tradition that was also in fashion in the Mughal Courts, who were influenced by the Persian convention of royalty.
However, at the same time, religious topics in connection with Krishna, Gita and other gods of South Asian Mythology, and their lives were among the most favorite themes.
The epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, secular scripts like Ragmalas, and the love-stories of gods and goddesses and different deities, especially of the Vishnu, which were put in black and white by the poets from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, were painted in abundance in this area.
This practice continued until the end of the nineteenth century when the Britons captured almost the entire subcontinent.
When the Sikhs captured the hill states, the Pahari School of painting came under the patronage of Sikh Courts, who owing to their political priorities and instability in the plains, could not take good care of these schools at the hills.
However, a new style of art, due to the French courtiers of Ranjit Singh's court, developed and evolved in the plains of Punjab, overshadowing the popularity and trend of miniature painting; a style that traveled from Persia to the Mughal Courts and then gloriously it breathed its last, atop hills.
