Painting - Craft Archive | Research on Indian Handicrafts & Handloom

Bhitti Chitra (Muriya Painting)~ Chhattisgarh

info_admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:39:49 +0000

Bhitti Chitras Chhattisgarh are an integral part of the region’s cultural heritage, visually representing and preserving historical traditions, customs, rituals, collective memory, and the unique identity of each community or tribe. The term Bhitti Chitra comes from two Sanskrit words: bhitti, meaning wall, and chitra, meaning painting. These artworks have long served as a medium to pass down knowledge, beliefs, and customs across generations. They are both informative and aesthetically appealing.

These paintings are not confined to a specific artistic style; they are primarily narrative, where each element symbolizes a cultural belief or value. Different tribes create these paintings for different purposes, but among the most well-known are those of the Muria people, an indigenous tribal community from the Bastar region. As a subgroup of the larger Gond tribe, the Muria are known for their progressive perspectives on life and marriage, and they were traditionally responsible for painting the walls of the Ghotuls, their unique youth dormitories.

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Mural paintings~Thiruvananthapuram

info_admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 11:46:27 +0000

The state of Kerala, known as ‘God’s own country’, has a rich assortment of religious influence in their crafts which is continued and secured for traditional and cultural retention. One such art form which has a higher religious influence on it is mural paintings practiced in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. This art form stands as the highest in India’s artistic tradition. The Mural painting art of Kerala is known for their technical excellence, depicting enchanting storytelling through clear and bold strokes by using bright and beautiful colours.

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Bundi Paintings ~ Bundi

info_admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 11:23:36 +0000

Bundi School of Painting, considered as an important and one of the most popular Rajasthani styles of Indian miniature painting, originated in the 17th century in the princely state of Bundi. The figurative art of the Bundi school of paintings serves not only to create powerful means of diffusion for religious thought but also touch upon the most varied aspects of life around it. Through the compositions and descriptions made by the Bundi artists, the lifestyle of royals, battle fields, festivals and horse races are beautifully depicted in Bundi paintings. This type of miniature painting became an important source to understand the social, cultural, political and religious aspects of that period in Rajasthan.

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Thangka painting~Laddakh

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 10:26:07 +0000

Thangkas are religious painted scrolls depicting Buddhist deities, traditionally done on cloth. Over the years, techniques like embroidery and applique have been added. They are believed to be pictures of the spiritual worlds. Thangka is a traditional form of Buddhist art with Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, and Nepalese influences. Hence there are different schools and styles. Various factors determine this – geography, availability of raw materials, socio-cultural influences and the schools of Buddhism they follow.

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Thangka painting~Dharamshala

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 11:14:16 +0000

A thangka is a complicated, composite three-dimensional object consisting of: a picture panel which is painted or embroidered, a textile mounting; and one or more of the following: a silk cover, leather corners, wooden dowels at the top and bottom and metal or wooden decorative knobs on the bottom dowel. The concept of Original Artistic Intent is difficult to apply to Tibetan thangkas. Thangkas are composite objects produced by painters and tailors with differing intents, skills and training. Iconographic specifications, regional and doctrinal differences in style, changes in form from harsh treatment and altered mountings all complicate the issue.

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Batic~Behrugarh

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 13:44:15 +0000

A lot can be done with a few layers of wax. Batik, the ancient craft form of wax-resist dyeing is practiced in various parts of the world. In this method of printing, desired patterns are made on the fabric with wax and then dyed to get the characteristic patchy patterns. The fabric is washed in hot water to get rid of the wax and what remains is the printed fabric. Repeating this multiple times gives desirable effects. It is one of the most innovative forms of textile printing in the world.

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Pithora painting~Chotaudaipur

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Sun, 25 May 2014 06:14:29 +0000

Pithora paintings are ritualistic paintings done by the Rathwa tribes of central Gujarat. These paintings depict the main deity called Pithora and a procession displaying his accomplishments. These paintings in homes are believed to bring peace, prosperity and happiness. These are also believed to be an old method of cartography.

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Miniature Painting~Udaipur

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 10:29:41 +0000

Whether it was the aerial view of the city from the fort wall, scenes from the Indian mythology or a grand procession, the artists would paint the entire scene in its full grandeur in amazing detail and finesse on a small canvas, for the king to keep as a memory of the event. These were the exquisite Miniature paintings of Rajasthan in the 16th Century. An art that was brought to India by the Mughal rulers, these were essentially a means for documenting history for the future generations.

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Gond Painting~Patangarh

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 12:32:23 +0000

Gond paintings are indigenous graphic expressions of the Gond tribes of Madhya Pradesh. They have a unique style of creating textures by descriptive patterns. These colourful, descriptive paintings are holistic depictions of tribal life.

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Pichwai

Gaatha A tale of crafts — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:18:36 +0000

Pichwais are religious cloth paintings that are hung behind the idols in the shrines of Lord Shrinathji at Nathdwara and other temples of Pushti Marga sect. It is an art form that pays tribute to the seven-year-old Lord Krishna, ‘Pichwai’ is a pathway to grace and spirituality. As, these paintings are made on large cloths and show Lord Krishna as Shrinathji and depict his childhood. The word Pichwai means ‘hanging at the back’ and is derived from the Sanskrit words ‘Pich’ which means back and ‘Wai’ means hanging. They describe the life events of Lord Krishna and are hung in temples behind the idol. The main theme of these paintings is Shrinathji and his Leelas (past times). Apart from being a visual narrative, they also express the mood of the deity, the spirit of the season or festival. With changing times, this art, known for fine intricate handiwork, has found its place in the urban living spaces. As art connoisseurs discovered Pichwais and took them to their living rooms as a metaphor of divinity, just as much as of opulence.

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