Rajasthani Paintings

While the Rajputana kingdom was divided into sections, each shared area had some specialty in their artform. Miniatures in manuscripts and single sheets which were kept in albums were the most famous artwork of Rajasthan.

The pictures were drawn on the walls of palaces, and from that time itself, the art of Rajasthan became quite popular. Apart from this, inner chambers of the forts, Havelis of Shekhawati Rajputs had intricate designs made by rarest stones famous across the globe.Although the subjects varied, the portraits of the ruling family were related to hunting or their other daily activities.

Majorly the colors used for Rajasthani painting are extracted from certain minerals, plant sources, precious stones derivatives, and conch shells. Traditionally, gold and silver were used, but in the art available in India, uses the extracted tints of flowers.

The preparation of these colors is quite a lengthy process because, most of the time, it takes months. Also, the brushes used in Rajasthani paintings are very fine.The brush used for painting is made of hair from a squirrel’s tail or plant twigs. Paintings use silk, paper, wood,canvas and sometimes on marble and ivory for miniature paintings.

The vibrant culture of Rajasthan is visible in their Phad painting style. This painting depicts the folk deities of the state, and it's a blend of both Mughal and Rajput style. Such indigenous artwork is rarely seen, and the surprising fact about this art is it's thousand years old, yet the most celebrated artists of modern times remember it.

The painting is detailed, and each corner of the canvas is covered, as it contains maximum human figures. The Phad painting is usually done on clothes, wherein a cloth is dried up by applying a paste of rice flour on it, to bring the shine. In modern times, Phad painting covers a whole wall, with human figures and objects, by giving an acrylic painting effect.

Yet another famous rajasthani painting is Mewar painting, and this painting usually covers male and female figures. The faces are oval, with elongated fish-like eyes, this painting style is also called an apabhramsa form. The traditional art matkas and embroidered turbans are displayed beautifully in Mewar painting.