Rajasthani School
The Rajasthani School of painting is more or less synonymous with the Rajput school of paintings as they were the dominant ruling class in this period and patronized most of the artists.
Mewar School
- Early paintings: This period of Mewari painting focuses on Sahibdin’s depiction of literary texts — the Ragamala, the Ramayana, and the Bhagavata Purana.
- Later paintings: Mostly depicted life at court in Mewar.
- Tamasha paintings: The unique point of this period is the extraordinary tamasha paintings that show court ceremonial and city views in unprecedented detail.
Amber-Jaipur School/Dhundar School
- Unpublished: The identity of “Amber School” is not as well etched in our minds as that of other schools. Much of the collection has remained in private hands and is unpublished.
- Found at: Wall paintings at Bairat in Rajasthan, palace walls, and the mausoleum of Amer Palace in Rajasthan.
- Folk-styled: Even though some of the menfolk are shown wearing Mughal-style clothing and headgear, the overall finish of the paintings is folk-styled.
- Patron: This school reached its pinnacle in the period of Sawai Pratap Singh in the 18th century.
Marwar School
- Includes: Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer.
- Paintings:
- 15th – 16th century: Men and women wore colorful clothing and followed Mughal patterns.
- After 18th century: Rajput element became predominant. For example, there was an influx of paintings that contained linear rhythm coupled with bright color.
- Sub-Schools:
- Kishangarh School (17th – 18th century):
- Theme: Romantic legends associated with Sawant Singh and his beloved Bani Thani (often said to resemble the character of Radha), and the intertwining of lives, myths, romance, and bhakti.
- Bundi School (17th – 19th century):
- Includes: The twin kingdoms of Bundi and Kota are collectively known as Hadoti.
- Theme: Krishna-bhakti plays a role in painting, or perhaps painting plays a role in their Krishna bhakti.
Pahari School (17th – 19th century)
- Region: This style of painting developed in the sub-Himalayan states also under the umbrella of Mughal influence, stretching from Jammu to Almora.
- Painters: Three of the greatest painters of this school were Nainsukh, Manaku, and Sansar Chand.
Basholi School (from 17th century)
- This was the early phase of miniature paintings in the region.
- Features:
- Characters: Expressive faces with a receding hairline and big eyes that are shaped like lotus petals.
- Colours: Primary colours were used a lot.
- Technique: They used the Mughal technique of painting on clothing but developed their own styles and techniques.
- Influence of Malwa school: The use of contrasting colours is associated with this school, and they are borrowed from the Malwa paintings.
- Patron: The first patron of this school was Raja Kirpal Pal.
- Important paintings: Illustration of Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari, Gita Govinda, and the Ramayana drawings.
Guler School
The last phase of the Basohli style was closely followed by the Jammu group of paintings, mainly consisting of portraits of Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota (near Jammu) by Nainsukh.
- Features:
- Change from Basholi style: These paintings are in a new naturalistic and delicate style, marking a change from the earlier traditions of the Basohli art.
- Colours: The colours used are soft and cool.
- Influence of Mughal style: The style appears to have been inspired by the naturalistic style of Mughal painting during the period of Muhammad Shah.
- Paintings: Bhagavata, Gita Govinda, Bihari Satasai, Baramasa, and the Ragamala.
Kangra School (from mid-18th century)
- Origin: After the decline of the Mughal empire, many artists trained in the Mughal style migrated to the Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh as they gained patronage from the Rajput Kingdom. This led to the birth of the Guler-Kangra School.
- Themes & Paintings: Gita Govinda, Bhagwata Purana, Satsai of Biharilal, and Nal Damayanti, love scenes of Krishna, and Twelve months depicting the effect of the 12 months on the emotions of human beings.
- Patron: Raja Sansar Chand.
Kullu-Mandi Style
- Style: The style is marked by bold drawing and the use of dark and dull colours.
- Folk character: Though influenced by the Kangra style, this style maintains its distinct folkish character.
- Paintings: Illustrations show Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain.
South Indian paintings
- Development: It developed in the early medieval period.
- Origin: Both Tanjore and Mysore paintings have originated from the same source — Vijayanagar paintings to begin with and their Nayaka paintings subsequently.
- Different from North Indian Paintings:
- Use of gold: These were different from the North Indian schools owing to the heavy use of gold in South Indian paintings.
- Focus: South Indian paintings concentrated on painting divine creatures much more than painting the rulers who patronised them.
Tanjore/Thanjavur Paintings
- Made on: These paintings are unique as they are mostly created on glass and wooden planks (Palagaipadam) instead of cloth and vellum as preferred in North India.
- Colours: Use of brilliant colour patterns and the liberal use of gold leaf.
- Theme: Earlier mostly focused on Lord Krishna. Now, they have moved towards experimenting with diverse subjects like birds, animals, buildings, etc.
Mysore Painting
- Theme: Depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses.
- Unique feature: They had two or more figures in each painting, and one figure predominates all the others in size and colour.
- Technique: They use gesso paste (a mixture of white lead powder, gambose, and glue), which gives a particular base to the painting that develops sheen on the background.
- Colours: Use of muted colours that are not so bright, so as to counteract the background.