Mysore painting
also: Mysore school of painting
Mysore painting is a classical South Indian painting tradition that grew up around the city of Mysore in Karnataka. When the Vijayanagara empire fell at the Battle of Talikota in 1565, its court painter families (Chitrakaras) migrated to Mysore, Tanjore and other centres, and the distinct Mysore school emerged from their Vijayanagara heritage under the patronage of the Wodeyar dynasty; Raja Wodeyar I resettled painter families at Srirangapatna. The tradition reached a high point under Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799-1868), whose Sritattvanidhi became the style's pictorial manual. Paints were ground from vegetable and mineral sources and applied to prepared paper, wood, cloth or walls; afterwards low-relief gesso was laid over jewellery, dress and architecture and covered with gold leaf, and the surface glazed and burnished. Elegant, muted and devotional in purpose, the paintings depict Hindu gods, goddesses and mythological scenes.
Defining characteristics
- Muted, soft colours ground from vegetable and mineral pigments
- Delicate, intricate brushwork with graceful delineation of figures
- Low-relief gesso gold work: fine gold-leaf ornamentation on jewellery, dress and architecture
- Burnished, glazed surface giving the painting a soft lustre
- Devotional subject matter: Hindu gods, goddesses and mythological scenes
- Deities framed by painted pillars, arches and ornamental borders
Key figures
- Raja Wodeyar I (1578-1617) — Mysore ruler who resettled Vijayanagara painter families at Srirangapatna, seeding the school
- Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799-1868) — Patron-king whose revival of the arts produced the Sritattvanidhi, the style's pictorial manual
Example works
- Sritattvanidhi — Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (19th century)
- Goddess Saraswati — Durgada Krishnappa (19th century)
- Battle of Pollilur murals, Daria Daulat Bagh — Mysore school painters (anonymous) (late 18th century)
Sources
- Mysore painting - Wikipedia encyclopedia