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Introduction�

Definition:Miniature word is derived from Latin word “minium” meaning red oxide (lead oxide). Earlier minium was used as delineating pigment in manuscripts, hence its name miniature.
Prior to miniature paintings only wall paintings were done and these type of art work was called murals.
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime.
Examples of fresco paintings can be witnessed in ‘ Bhimbetka caves’ near Bhopal in MP and also in the famous ‘Ajanta Caves’ of Maharastra.

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Chronology of Art: Origin and Early�cave paintings�

In India, paintings started with "Bhimbetka caves" near Bhopal, M.P. These are one of the oldest collections of rock painting are available.
Numerous references to paintings are found in Brahmanical and

Buddhist literature dating back to pre Christian period.�
Eleborate fresco paintings are also found in Ajanta Caves of Aurangabad district in Maharashtra.
These paintings reflect different phases of Indian Culture from Jain Tirthankar Mahaveer's birth to his nirvana in the 8th Century AD.

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Miniature Paintings�

Miniatures were preferred over murals as they were having advantage of being handy, portable, light, andeasytocarry and store.

Paintings started from Caves in India and later from Pala School to Modern Indian art via Mughal miniature, Rajasthan School, Deccan School and oriental painting.

Following is a map of India showing the various miniature art forms in different parts of the country.

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Pala Miniature�

Covers the earliest Indian miniature paintings dating back to 8^th century AD.
Focused on symbolic use of colours and themes derived from Buddhist tantric rituals.
Palm leaves were used for portraying the image of Buddha and often displayed in Buddhist monasteries such as Nalanda , Somapura Mahavira, Vikramshila.
Art form spread across South East Asia and popular in Srilanka, Nepal, Burma,Tibet.

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Orissa Miniature Painting�

Came into existence during 17^th century AD.

Palm leaves were used to display intricate art forms.

Most of the paintings depicted the love stories of Radha & Krishna and also the stories of Krishna Leela.

Paintings were rich in colour and depicted the

majestic landscape of the eastern parts of India.

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Rajasthani Miniature Painting

Originated in 16^th century.
Classified into various schools depending on region they were created in:

Mewar school,
Marwar school,
Hadoti school,
Dundar school etc.

Portrayal of Hunting scenes, Love scenes, Krishna & Radha life, Royal life style of Kings & Queens, social values and religious theme like Ramayana & Mahabharata.
The main colour used are the primary colours (Red, Blue Yellow).
Females are wearing Lehanga & Choli with transparent Dupatta. Males cloth include Turban, Jhabba, Patka and Pazama.
Nature depicted very beautifully. Different types of trees, floral trees, mountains, water, seasons and lakes have been depicted in very attractive manner.
The different art of miniature painting still exists in Rajasthan where painters

often use paper, ivory & silk as their canvas.
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Jain Miniature

Originated in 11^th century.
Portrayal of enlarged eyes, square shapes of hands, stylish figures with

heavy gold outlines.

The paintings often displayed male figures and goddesses of Tirthankara.
Strong and vibrant colours of inks and dyes are used.
No costumed are used as per belief of Jainism and all the paintings are

heavily ornamented.

Mainly flowers and animals are used in these paintings.
These paintings displayed its art work on palm leaves (i.e. tala patra) but started using paper from the late of 12^th century.
These paintings began to decline during the late of 16^th century.

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Mughal Miniature�

Amalgamation of Indian paintings and Persian miniature paintings.
Flourished from 16th to 18th centuries, especially under the reign of Akbar. Akbarnama written by Abul Fazal had many paragraphs illustrated by paintings.
Depicted scenes from the royal court, hunting expeditions, wild life and battles.
Plants and trees were portrayed realistically.
Paintings had rich frames and were decorated heavily.
Inspired Hindu painters who came up with miniatures depicting stories from ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’.
Humayun and Jahangir encouraged paintings that portrayed events from their respective life, while in Shah Jahan’s reign, painters began giving importance to portraiture.
Declined in the reign of Aurangzeb.

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Pahari Miniature�

Pahari School of miniature painting emerged in the 17th century A.D.
Influenced by the Mughal School and the Rajasthani School of miniature

Paintings.

Flourished in the Jammu to Garhwal regions from 17th to 19th centuries.
The Pahari School of paintings gave rise to various other schools such as:

Guler School,
Basohli School,
Garhwal School,
Chamba School,
Kangra School,

Portrayal of gods and goddesses is one of the most common features.
Scenic beauty of the Himalayas was also often depicted in these paintings.

Bold and contrasting colors shows the influence of Rajasthani School while heavily decorated frames and borders exhibits the influence of the Mughal School

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Deccan Miniature�

The Deccan School of miniature painting flourished in places like Ahmednagar, Golconda, Tanjore, Hyderabad and Bijapur from 16th to 19th century A.D.
Influenced by the rich traditions of the Deccan and the religious beliefs of Turkey, Persia and Iran.
They often portrayed intense colours and sensuous looking female figures.
The ladies were portrayed with beautiful faces, large eyes and broad

foreheads.

Also, symmetrical arrangement played a prominent role.
Portrayal of geometrically accurate buildings and other man made

wonders was prominent.

These paintings also display the usage of various strokes and depth,

creating multi-dimensional effect.
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Design

Miniatures are used to depict life of the era in which they are painted.
They are used as illustrations in books to exemplify the
scene talked about the paragraph.
In Rajasthan Jain paintings and paintings of Radha Krishna are most painted subjects.
Deccan subjects also range from deities to patron rulers.

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Process of Painting�

For paper paintings
On paper figure is sketched out and base colour is filled. Then fine detailing is done with “one hair brush” made of squirrel tail hair. Paintings are also rubbed on smooth stones to give smoothness to colour and shine to painting. Finally decoration with crushed gold and silver colour is done to give royalness to paintings.
For Silk / cotton paintings:
Only difference is silk or cotton cloth is used as base material on which painting is painted.
For marble paintings:
Unpolished marble plate or articles are used as base material. Rest process is same as paper painting.

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Raw Materials

Silk, Paper, Wood, canvas, water, colours, brushes
To make brushes hairs are needed, which are obtained from small animals like squirrel etc.
Other pigments were made from earth, insects and animal matter and metals. To make metallic pigments, gold, silver and copper were pounded into foil between sheets of leather, after which the foil was ground with rough salt in a mortar. The salt was then washed out leaving behind the pure metal powder. This technique and process is still used by contemporary artists.

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Colours Sources

Colours	Sources
S.No.	Colour	Source
1	White (dull)	Khadiya stone
2	White (fast)	Zinc powder
3	Blue	Opium
4	Red	Hingulal Stone
5	Brown	Geru Stone
6	Yellow	Pevadi stone
7	Red (fast)	Hansraj
8	Black	Kajal
9	Orange	Mercury Sindoor
10	Green (fast)	Sheelu stone

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Renowned Artists�

Padam Shri Late Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya
Padam Shri S. Shakir Ali
Padam Shri – Shree Lal Joshi
Late Ved Pal Sharma
Gopal Lal Sharma
Chandrasekhar Das
Saroj Sharma

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Effects of Development of Miniature�Painting�

The magic of Indian painting consists in the strange contrast in the size of its canvas, hardly a few inches in length and width, and the enormity of its theme, the land that it represents, its vastness, spiritualism, cosmological vision, idea of the Divine, traditions, ethos, various streams, indigenous and extraneous, its men, women, their lifestyle and the fragrance of its soil.

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