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Jain Miniature Painting
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The earliest examples of miniature painting in India exist in the form of illustrations to the religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas of the eastern India and the Jain texts executed in western India during the 11th-12th centuries A.D. The Pala period (750 A.D. to the middle of the 12th century) witnessed the last great phase of Buddhism and of the Buddhist art in India.
The Pala painting is characterized by sinuous line and subdued tones of color. It is a naturalistic style which resembles the ideal forms of contemporary bronze and stone sculpture, and reflects some feeling of the classical art of Ajanta.
The Pala art came to a sudden end after the destruction of the Buddhist monasteries at the hands of Muslim invaders in the first half of the 13th century. Some of the monks and artists
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escaped and fled to Nepal, which helped in reinforcing the existing art traditions there.
Jains appear to have been practised the miniature paintings before the 10th century, although no traces of it have been found prior to the early 11th century A.D. Its existence in the 8th and 9th centuries can be inferred from descriptive passages in contemporary literature, which furnish valuable insights into the style of painting as well as themes portrayed during that period.
Jain manuscript painting was widely spread in western India. There were a number of religious establishments in Gujarat and Rajasthan where manuscripts could be copied and illustrated. Gujarat was perhaps the most important centre for illustrated manuscripts with centres like Pāţana, Ahmedabad, Vadnagar, and Champāner etc. Māndū in Malwa was another big Jain centre in the medieval period for Jain manuscripts. Jains produced some remarkable documents in the 11th and 12th centuries. They have an unbroken tradition of painting from A.D. 1050 to 1750. It continued thereafter but its expression, emptied of content, lacks vivacity.
The distinguishing features of the Jain painting are its linear energy and taut angular outlines of the face. In the earlier paintings, reflections in line and washes of colour along with the outlines suggested plasticity. Gradually, these became mere conventions, used without understanding, and then they disappear altogether. The quite insistence on a cursive line and a limited palette of a few basic colours imparts a flat two - dimensional quality to the later paintings.
Jain paintings could be roughly divided into three periods – palm-leaf period, paper period and late period. In the first two periods, Jain painting retained its distinguishing characteristics such as angularity in drawing, protuberance of the further eyes etc., but in the third period, which begins in the 17th century, these characteristics are lost under the Mughal influence and western Indian School merges in the general trend of Indian art.
Before the advent of paper in India, palm-leaf and birch bark (bhujapatra) were extensively used as writing materials. In the palm-leaf Jain manuscripts, the leaves were divided into two or three panels for writing, the division depending on the size of the leaves. On both the sides of the panels, generally one and half inch margins were left and in the central margin a button strung on a string kept the leaves in position. The margins in order to break monotony of blankness were framed with decorative designs – such as friezes of elephants or swans and various floral motifs. If the manuscripts were to be illustrated, after the work of scriber was over, the panels were left on different leaves, and were handed over to the artists to complete their work. The rich and costly effect was enhanced by a lavish use of gold and ultramarine, and by writing the text in silver ink on a black or red background, or even in gold on a red ground.
The illustrated palm-leaf Jain manuscripts may be divided into two groups on stylistic grounds. The first group comprises the manuscripts executed between A.D. 1060 to roughly A.D. 1350, while the second group comprises the manuscripts illustrated between A.D. 1350 to A.D. 1400 or A.D. 1450 when paper practically displaced the palm-leaf.
The beginning of the Jain miniature painting survives in the form of illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts and wooden book-covers belonging to the 11th - 12th century A.D. These early documents represent a widespread tradition of Jain painting of coherent and cogent expression – and register various phases of its development.
The compositions in the illustrated manuscripts are simple, set on a brick or purplish red or blue background. Yellow, white and green complete the palette. The line is strong, even coarse, and energy and movement are conveyed by the stance of the figures and the disposition of the draperies. By the end of the 13th century, the general stylistic conventions were more or less settled which continued in the subsequent centuries. The line becomes thin and wiry, absolutely certain within the range of expressiveness it sets for itself. The figures are seen either full-face or in almost full profile, the further eye being allowed to project right beyond the cheek. Architectural and rudimentary landscape backgrounds make an appearance. The introduction of paper allowed a larger field for painting and more ambitious compositions and the miniatures began to be framed in rich illumination.
The eleventh century Kashmiri poet Bilhana’s secular poem Caurapancasika (50 Stanza of the Thief), described the secret love of a thief and a princess. In this series, the symmetry and rigidity of line ad brilliance of color of Jain Miniature style, made dramatic innovations. Depicted in the Mewar Painting Style, it is reminiscent of Jain tradition of combining verse with painted image, through architecture like division. In such miniature paintings, the theme of lyric poetry was depicted with strong confident line, throbbing colors and bold patterns, but controlled workmanship.
Images sourced from Google Search Engine with the term "Jain Miniature" |
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