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LORD GANESHA Basholi Painting |
About Indian art, Maharshi Sri Aurobindo once said that:
Indian art demands of the artist the power of communion with the soul of
things, the sense of spiritual taking precedence of the sense of material
beauty.
If we observe the artworks done by the regional painters
of India, we can realise what Sri Aurobindo had meant by his above words. Yes,
while doing most of the artworks, Indians think first about religion,
especially the spiritual aspect.
The Pahari paintings were done by the artists living in the northern Himalayan region have displayed such religious themes in their art.
Basholi painting is one of the sub-types of the Pahari painting style. Basholi
painting is influenced by the work of Mughal Miniature paintings done in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in India. This style of painting,
Basholi is also inspired by the Rajput style of Miniature paintings and other
local styles of paintings that prevailed in the same period.
Basholi Paintings or Basohli paintings, the paintings from the Himalayan
range of mountains. If the small town in Northern India, in Jammu and
Kashmir State, named Basholi. If this small town is known in the whole
world for anything, it is the style of painting that had evolved here in the
mid-eighties.
The subjects of this style of painting were religious ones. The prayer to
the Gods and Goddesses. That is how the Indian consciousness remains occupied.
About the religious nature and chanting a prayer, Mahatma Gandhi said once:
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is better in prayer to
have a heart without words than words without a heart. the people of India pray
before God. the artists of India depict their prayer in their art.
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| Raja Amrit Pal of Basohli Los Angeles County Museum of Art Drawing: Watercolour |
The style of paintings known as Basholi Painting is believed to be the
first school of Pahari Paintings. The word pahar of pahad means
the mountain. The style of Pahari Painting, too, is evolved under the main
style of painting known as Kangra Paintings.
Once the Mughal Emperors had stopped encouraging the art, especially during
the reign of Aurangzeb, the artists of miniature paintings had found their new
forms of art. During this period of the seventeenth century, the Rajput kings
became the main sponsors of indigenous art. They also encouraged the religious subjects to be painted. Basholi style of painting is one of these arts. The
Rajput kings of Basholi encouraged their local artists to paint these
paintings.
There are special features attached to this style of
painting called Basholi. There is a style of painting known as Pahari painting
or the painting which is done by the people living in the mountains. Like the
Pahari style of painting, in Basholi paintings, too, the artists use locally
available colours. The colours are always vibrant. These artists mainly used
red, blue and yellow. Their subjects were mythological stories. Some paintings
are done to depict other stories, too. These subjects were painted to please
their sponsor kings and princes.
Basholi Style of Painting: Basoli paintings are like another
name of the style of paintings which are painted with vigorous use of
primary colours. the characters shown in these types of paintings have a
peculiar facial formula. This formula was widely used in several styles of painting
that prevailed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The era of
Basholi paintings started from the time of Raja Kirpal who ruled in the northern
Indian state in the late seventeenth century.
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Goddess Bhadrakali ca 1660-1670 |
It is believed that the Basohli School of
Painting was in operation from the pre-Mughal time. In this painting, one
mythological story of Lord Ganesha is depicted. Ganesha is ready to throw the
divine flower of the lotus at the demon named Mamasur, the demon of egotism. As
per the mythological story, the demon had tried to attack Lord Ganesha. Lord
Ganesha is a divine figure in the Hindu Religion. He is the son of God Shiva
and Deity Parvati. The demon could not bear the divine smell of the
flower lotus and surrendered to Lord Ganesha.
Basholi Style Subjects of Painting: The Indian mythology, God and Goddesses of Hindu
Religion, and sometimes the lifestyle of Indian Kings: these were the subjects
painted by the Basholi painters. In the above painting of Lord Ganesha, we can
see the imaginative artistic style of the artists working under the Basholi School of
paintings. The colours are vivid, and skillfully laid on the base with a definite
wish of immortalizing the artistic eminence.
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| Goddess Bhadrakali Worshipped by God Free Gallery of Art at Washington |
The Indian mythology, the God and Goddesses of the Hindu
Religion, and sometimes the lifestyle of Indian Kings: these were the subjects
painted by the Basholi painters. In the above painting of Lord Ganesha, we can
see the imaginative artistic style of the artists working under the
Basholi School of paintings. The colours are vivid, and skillfully laid
on the base with a definite wish of immortalizing the artistic eminence.
Another painting is of Goddess Bhadrakali. Here she is
shown as dancing. The deities standing nearby adore her dance and pray for her.
There are numerous mythological stories wherein the deities are facing a tough
time against the demons; In such circumstances, they approach the Goddess,
mainly the Amaba or one of her incarnations. After that, the Goddess kills the
demon and the other deities are pleased. Such a dance of pleasure occurs after
the killing of a demon. Here the Goddess Bhadrakali is dancing, and other
deities are looking at her with devotion.
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Radha and Lord Krishna in a discussion. Bashohli Gita Govinda 1730 |
The devotional love of Radha and Krishna was unique. The artists in
India would love to paint Lord Krisha. Here the Basohali artist has also
painted the lover couple. This subject of painting Radha and Krishna has been
used by the artists working in other schools of painting in India, too.
The Pahari, Kangra, Phad, Tanjore, and Deccan painters would love to paint the mythological subjects and the characters narrated in the scriptures of the Hindu religion. The artists belonging to the school of Mughal Miniatures had used this subject of Radha and Krishna extensively. [All the paintings are in Public Domain, taken from Wikimedia Commons]
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