Indian Miniature Paintings

The beauty of Indian Miniature Paintings is spread and known across the globe. This traditional painting form of India dated back to 6^th - 7^th century when Kashmiri paintings also became popular. Miniature paintings are small sparkling paintings colored with vegetable colors. The artisans of Indian Miniature Paintings dexterously makes a canvass a beautiful riot of colors with varied theme. The intricate work involved while making a Miniature Painting is remarkable.

The paintings are small comparatively and so called “Miniature Paintings”. 11^th and 12^th century took the tradition of Miniature Paintings to its boom. In those times, people started making the manuscripts for storing the knowledge on palm leaves. Later, Mughals helped in the flourishing of this tradition in India. The miniature paintings got their inspiration from epics and folk themes. Different cultures influenced the art of paintings and so it is an amalgamation of varied cultures.

The cultural heritage of India can proudly boast of Miniature Paintings. Appreciate the beauty of colors that render a special hue to the miniature paintings in the manuscripts of Buddhists, Jains, Mughal and most importantly Rajput texts. You will find the miniature paintings embellished with minerals and vegetable colors. The art of making the desired color is not tedious. It requires great skill and time.

These paintings have seen patronage of Muslims rulers in Deccan and Rajput rulers in Rajasthan. The motifs of these paintings are basically scenes of hunting, court scenes, flowers and animals. The Indian state of Rajasthan has been a prominent one as far as Miniature Painting is concerned. In Rajasthan alone one can find various schools of the paintings like in the areas of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kangra and Mewar. There are some other schools of this tradition also like paintings from Malwa, Bundhelkhand Raghogarh, Bani Thani.

You can differentiate between a Mughal and a Rajput Miniature Painting by observing the use of colors. The Rajput school uses vibrant colors more to create a theme in abstract and Mughals use moderate colors for depth and shadow. The artisans gently strokes the brush on the canvas, thus, it requires great level of expertise. A specimen of Miniature Painting is must have for the connoisseurs.

Swati