Mewar Style of Painting

Mewar Style

• A prominent style of painting, considered one of the earliest styles

Key Facts

• The 'Kalpasutra' text (1426 AD) by painter Dhansar is notable
• Douglas Barrett and Basil Grey consider the original form of Mewar style to be in 'Chaur Panchashika,' painted in Pratapgarh in 1540 AD
• The reign of Maharana Kumbha is considered the golden age of arts in Rajasthan, and Kumbha is known as the 'father of painting in Rajasthan'
• Paintings from the time of Maharana Udai Singh, like the 'Parijat Avataran' (1540 AD) of Bhagwat Purana, are creations by the Mewar painter Nanaram
• The golden age of Mewar style of miniature painting is during the time of Maharana Jagat Singh I (1628-1652 AD)
• During this time, Ragmala (1628), Rasik Priya (1628-30), Geetgovind (1629), Bhagwat Purana (1648 AD, by Sahibdin), Ramayan (1649, by Manohar), and Arsh Ramayan (1649-1653, by Sahibdin) were created
• Mughal style influenced Mewar style for the first time in this period
• Key painters during Jagat Singh's time were Nasiruddin, Sahibdin, and Manohar
• Jagat Singh I established the 'Chiteron ki Ovari' (Picture Gallery) school of painting in the Udaipur royal palace
• Miniature paintings were produced more during the reign of Maharana Jai Singh (1680-1698 AD)
• 40 miniature paintings of 'Rasik Priya' are noteworthy in the paintings created during the time of Maharana Amar Singh II (1698-1710 AD)
• Paintings based on Geetgovind, Bihari Satsai, Sundar Shringar, Mulla Do Pyaza ke Latife, and Kalila Damna texts are prominent during the reign of Maharana Sangram Singh II (1710-34 AD)
• 'Nuruddin' was the main painter of this period who created paintings based on 'Panchatantra' (Kalila Damna)

Panchatantra

• Composed by Vishnu Sharma
• Kalila Damna, Anware-Suheli, Ayare Danish are all translated versions of Panchatantra
• The Persian translation of Panchatantra is 'Anware Suheli' by Mulla Hussain Vaiz Kashifi, and Abul Fazal translated it as 'Ayare Danish'
• Kalila Damna is a symbolic story with two characters, two jackals named Kalila and Damna, where Kalila is simple and Damna is cunning
• Based on Kalila Damna, the illustrated book was first published in Baghdad in 1258 AD
• Al-Biruni first discovered that Kalila is a translation of Panchatantra

Mewar Style Details

• Main theme includes devotion to Krishna
• Main texts include Sursagar, Geetgovind, Bihari Satsai, Bhagwat Purana, Madhu-Malati, Rasik Priya, Kavi Priya, Ramayana, Kadambari, Nal Damyanti, with detailed depictions of devotion to Krishna
• Other painters from the time include Sahibdin, Nasiruddin, Nuruddin, Kripa Ram, Bhairuram, Manohar, Shyobaks, Jivaram, Umra, Rampratap, Nayanachandra, Shivdayal
• Mewar style has the largest collection of texts in painting styles
• Udaipur's Government Museum has an enormous collection of Mewar painting style pictures
• The main image of Mewar painting style, 'Ragmala painting,' is preserved in the Delhi Museum

Mewar Style Characteristics

• Men are depicted with full faces, large eyes, open lips, short necks, and short stature, wearing a Udaipuri turban and long scarf
• Women are portrayed with simplicity, lotus-like, with mina-like eyes, straight long noses, full double chins, short stature, dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire with lugdi-ghagra and kanchuki
• Main animals and birds featured are elephants and chakors
• The main tree depicted is the kadamba tree
• Main colors used are red (with red and black on the edges), along with yellow, green, blue, and white

Nathdwara Style

• Nathdwara style originated during the time of Mewar Maharana Raj Singh in 1672 AD with the establishment of the idol of Shrinath in Sihada village (Nathdwara)
• The second major phase of Mewar style is seen in Nathdwara style
• Nathdwara is the main center in India, famous for the Pushtimarg sect
• This style is a combination of Udaipur and Brij styles
• The unique contribution of Nathdwara style is the paintings made on large cloth screens behind the idol of Shrinath, known as 'Pichhwais'
• Depicted Childhood pastimes of Krishna, pictures of Krishna-Yashoda, Nand, cowherd boys, Yashoda, Gopis, Govardhan mountain, idols of Shrinathji, delightful depictions of cows, gods in the sky, dense vegetation in the background, banana trees, and saints of the Vallabh sect
• Main paintings include Kadambari, Panchatantra, Malti Madhav, Ekadashi Mahatya, Prithviraj Ri Vel
• The golden age of this style was during the reign of Maharana Raj Singh