Thanjavur painting

also: Tanjore painting · palagai padam

style tradition school c. 1676-present Tamil Nadu South India

Thanjavur (Tanjore) painting is a classical South Indian painting style from the town of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, where it took shape in the Maratha court (1676-1855) out of the Nayaka-era painting traditions around it. Made to hang in domestic puja rooms and bhajan halls, its devotional icons of Hindu gods, goddesses and saints fuse Tamil, Telugu, Deccani, Vijayanagara, Maratha and European Company-style influences into one ornate idiom. Paintings are built up on canvas glued to a wooden plank (palagai padam), with raised gesso work laid under gold leaf and inset glass beads or stones, then painted in vivid reds, greens and blues. Patronised by Maratha kings such as Serfoji II and later by Chettiar merchants and British collectors, it earned a Geographical indication in 2007-08 and is still practised today.

This is thanjavur art originated from southern India. It is generally made using 24 carrot gold.
This is thanjavur art originated from southern India. It is generally made using 24 carrot gold.CC BY-SA 4.0 (credit: Klien rai) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Gold leaf over raised gesso relief, with glass beads and sometimes gems inlaid into the surface
  • Rich, flat, vivid colour - saturated reds, greens, turquoise and chalk white - with shading reserved for the face
  • Static, two-dimensional icon-like composition: an enlarged central figure framed by arches, prabhavalis, curtains and decorative borders
  • Rounded faces, almond-shaped eyes and smooth, streamlined bodies
  • Devotional subjects from the Puranas - gods, goddesses and saints - mounted as framed panels on wooden planks
  • Syncretic ornament blending Vijayanagara, Deccani, Maratha and European details (angel-like flanking figures)

Key figures

  • Serfoji II (1777-1832) — Maratha king of Thanjavur under whose patronage the painting reached its recognised form
  • Madhava Swami (fl. 1824) — Court painter whose signed illustrations accompany the Marathi Mahabharata and Bhagavatham
  • C. Kondaiah Raju (1898-1976) — Raju-community calendar artist whose iconic prints carried the style into modern popular art

Example works

  • Illustrations to the Marathi Mahabharata and Bhagavatham — Madhava Swami (1824)
  • Raja Sarabhoji of Tanjore (glass painting) — Unknown Thanjavur artist (c. 1860)
  • The Ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana — Unknown Thanjavur artist (20th century)

Sources

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