Gallery- Warli Paintings

       

All about Warli Paintings

Warli Painting on wall(forest scene)

INTRODUCTION  

Maharashtra is known for its warli folk paintings. Warli is the name of the largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai, in western India. Despite being in such close proximity of the larget metropolis in India, Warli tribe men shows all influences of modern urbanization.

House of Warli Tribe

ORIGIN     

Warli is the name of the tribe,which resides in Thane district in Maharashtra on the northern outskirts of Mumbai and extends up to the Gujarat borders.The origin of the warlis is yet unkown and no records of this art are found, but many scholars and folklorists believe that it can be traced to as early as the 10th century A.D. This art was eventually rediscovered in the early seventies and became popular for its unique simplicity and fervor for life.

HISTORY

Warli art was first discovered in the early seventies.While there are no records of the exact origins of this art,its roots may be traced to as early as the 10th century A.D.
Paintings created by artists belonging to different tribal societies are vibrant,symbolic and depict all aspects of tribal life.The celebrated warli paintings for example have originated out of the life and rituals of a tribe of the same name residing at the distant corners of the western ghats in Maharashtra.This simple yet vivid painting style is believed to have originated sometime around the 10th century A.D. However, considering its simplicity in form and figure it can be assumed to be dating back to the neolithic period between 2500 B.C to 3000 B.C.

Warli Painting (dance  and amusement scene)

THE TRIBE   

The Warli who are simple and happy in nature also include life around them in their paintings because they express everything they feel and believe in. Very repetitive and highly symbolic,these paintings seems to seek communication with the outside world.It is believed that these paintings invoke powers of the gods.
People,animals and trees form a loose,rhythmic pattern across the entire area/sheet. The result is a light swinging motion that describes the daily routine of the intensely social Warlis.

ABOUT PAINTINGS

These paintings express everyday life using extremely basic object forms and just one color white on a sober mud base.The appeal of these uni color compositions with elementary object forms lies in their lack of pretentiousness in conveying the profound.The core philosophy and social history of a tribal society are conveyed through these tribal paintings in all their humble renderings.Each painting is usually an entire scene that contains various elements of nature including people,animals,trees,hills etc. Decorative patterns inspired by nature are also used.The themes are often repetitive and symbolic in nature. It is a territory mostly dominated by the tribal women.

Usually the warli paintings are done during the marriage ceremony and they call them as 'Lagnache Chitra' meaning wedding paintings.The painting is sacred and without it the marriage cannot take place.Their respect for nature is from the most gigantic to the smallest creature and plant. The figures and traditional motifs are repetitive and highly symbolic.They communicate through their paintings and their life style and passion for nature are depicted with utmost details. Triangular humans and animals with stick like hands and legs, geometrical designs with rows of dots and dashes are drawn on the mud walls of the huts of warlis.

Many of the warli paintings that represents Palghat, the marriage god, often include a horse used by the bride and groom. The horse is symbolic of something that this poor community can ill- afford,the painting is sacred and without it, the marriage cannot take place.Since their discovery two and a half decades ago, these paintings have brought the community much fame and fortune.

PURPOSE

Warli is the vivid expression of daily and social events of the warli tribe of Maharashtra used by them to embellish the walls of village houses.This was the only means of transmitting folklore to a populace not acquainted with the written word. This art form is simple in comparison to the vibrant paintings of Madhubani.

These paintings also serve social and religious aspirations of the local people.It is believed that these paintings invoke powers of god.

SUBJECTS/DESIGNS/PATTERNS

Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings.These paintings do not depict mythological characters or images of deities, but depict social life.Images of human beings and animals along with the scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. These tribal paintings of Maharashtra are traditionally done in the homes of the warlis. Painted white on mud walls,they are pretty close to prehistoric cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting.

Marraige Chowkhat

The subject found in these paintings are wedding scenes,various  animals,birds,trees,men,women,children,descriptive harvest scene,group of men dancing around a person playing the music,dancing peacock and many more.One of the famous warli paintings is the marriage 'chowkhat',a painting made at the time of marriage.The warlis women called 'savasini" means married women whose husbands are alive,paint a 'chawk' or a square on the walls of their kitchen.

The warlis do not narrate mythology or any great epic.Simply painted on mud charcoal and cow dung based surface with rice paste for the color white,the art form deals with themes that narrate their social lifestyle and activities.The loose rhythmic movement that each painting suggests add life to the paintings.

The warli paintings first adorned the walls of villages houses before they made the transitions to a much prized art form of today.

Warli women  painting on mud base
 with white powder

PREPARATION OF PAINTINGS AND APPLICATION OF COLORS                                  

Stylistically,they can be recognized by the fact that they are painted on an austere mud base using one color,white with occasional dots in red and yellow.This color is obtained from grounding rice into white powder.This sobriety is offset by the ebullience of their content.

These themes are highly repetitive and symbolic.Many of these paintings that represents 'palghat' the marraige god,often include a horse used by the bride and groom.It is sacred and without it, the marraige cannot take place.

Warli painting on cloth

PRESENT SITUATION  

Today small paintings are also done on cloth and paper,but they look best on the walls or in the form of huge murals that bring out the vast and magical world of the warlis.For the warlis,tradition is still adhered to but at the same time new ideas have been allowed to seep in which helps them face new challenges from the market.

Warli painting Products

MODERNIZATION  

In it is rare to see a straight line.A series of dots and dashes make one line.The artists have recently started to draw straight lines.These days,even men have taken to painting and they are then done on paper incorporating traditional decorative warli motifs with modern elements such as the bicycle etc. Warli paintings on paper have become very popular and are now sold all over India.Now a days, these paintings are also made upon garments like kurtis,T shirts, sarees and other home decor products like vases,pen stands,

Warli painting products

lamp shades,clocks,photo frames,wooden trays,
napkin holders,crockery,umbrellas other wall decor products,murals etc.And newer experiments are going on to uplift the art to new avenues.

All about Mandana Painting

Introduction 

Jyoti Bhatt, woman drawing mandana design Rajasthan

Mandana is an art in which intricate designs are created on the floors and entry ways of houses and temples to bring good luck,peace,prosperity and happiness into the home. Rangoli is applied freehand by taking colors in the form of powdered rice, white,limestone,chalk or flour in a dry form or as a paste.The artists fingers serve as a brush.

    

Pray for Non Violence - by artist Lakhi Chnad Jain

Mandana is a different form of the Sanskrit word 
'mandan' which means to discover and mandana means to draw with lives and create a work of art.There was a time when mandana was used to a very large extent in their states and the people would create large and colorful mandanas.


About Paintings

Photographic documentation of mandana - by Madan Meena

It is the folk craft of decorating houses. Red sand and chalk powder are used to make designs on floors and walls.This art is quite popular in the rural areas of Rajasthan. Different types of squares,rectangular and floral designs are made suiting the particular season or festival. Several mandana motifs have started appearing on block printed textiles also.

photographic documentation of mandana - by Madan Meena

Mandana art has always been symbolic of festive and during Diwali,Holi and other religious occasions. Mandana drawings were done on mud layered walls of homes, on public walls and chowks(squares).But these types of homes no longer exist to recreate a perfect mandana art motif.

History

The origin of painting is traced to a moving legend recorded in the chitralakshana - the earliest Indian treatise on painting. When the son of a king's high priest died, Brahma - lord of the universe, asked the king to paint the likeness of the boy so that he may breathe life into him again.This is how it is beleived to be the first painting was made.

Another popular story is that God in one of his creative provocation extracted the juice from one of the mango trees as paint and drew the figure of a woman so beautiful that it put the heavenly maidens to shame.

The Chola rulers made extensive use of floor paintings, Thus they are known by different names in different parts of the country - Alpana in Bengal, Aripana in Bihar, Mandana in Rajasthan, Rangoli in gujarat & Maharashtra, Chowk - Purna in Uttar Pradesh and Kolam in the South India.

Purpose

Decorating the floor in different parts of the house is believed to be a good omen.The entrance decoration is a gesture of welcome.Elaborate designs are made on all occasions. One important point is that the entire graph must be an unbroken line with no gaps to be left anywhere between the line for evil spirits to enter.

Mandana was also drawn to safeguard that sacred space from the 'asuras' (demons), so that gods and goddesses would grace the occasion without fear. In case they could not find their way to the venue, directions were also drawn.

Designs and Patterns

The designs are symbolic and basically common to the whole country like geometrical patterns, with lines, dots, squares, circles, triangles, the swastika, lotus, trident fish, conch- shell, foot- prints (suppose to be of goddess Lakshmi), creepers, leaves, trees, flowers, animals and anthropomorphic figures. These motifs often are modified to fit in with the local images and rhythms.

            

Paisley, 'Pan' (betel leaves) , Pair of Leaves , Peacocks etc were used as Motifs 

  

  

Deepawali Mandana

Mandana for Holy Work

 

Mandana on which the deity resides

Lakshmi Pooja Mandana 

   

Preparation method

During Diwali villages with mud homes would be layered with 'geru' -'gobar'( brick and cow dung solution) to give an even and dry surface.
 


Ater drying, a small strip of cloth(white) would be dipped in the mixture and a mandana drawn on every corner of the houses - doors, windows, courtyards and walls. First an outline and then various shapes like triangles, squares, perpendicular lines, rectangles, octagons were drawn which were anywhere between two to ten feet large. While drawing mandanas, one needs to have complete concentration because mistakes cannot be improved on or corrected. Only a thin stick with the tip covered in cotton is used. This unique art is sometimes drawn from inside out or outside in. Small dots and lines are used to make a complete form. Just using various geometrical patterns can also create different styles, with each having its own personality.

After the mandana dries,according to the occasions , kalash(metal pot), chaval(rice), Phul- Patti(flowers and leaves), supari(areca nut), nagweli(areca leaves) and diya(mud lamps) are used to decorate it. Earlier, the use of sindoor(vermilian), haldi(turmeric), neel(indigo) and Phul- Patti(flowers and leaves) were groud to create colors. It is regarded as in auspicious to keep the garden and open spaces in homes empty during festive occasions.

Finished Products With Mandana art (ceramic cone work)

       

Gallery - Mandana Paintings

some distinguished mandana projects- by rachnalaya

                                  

                                      

  


       

Traditional Folk Paintings Of India

Folk Painting Of India

The term folk paintings have encompasses pictures made in Indian villages by both men and women, for ornamentation of their abodes,portrayals of their gods and for their various rituals and by local professional painters or artisans for use of the local people. All these paintings were produced in a variety of styles and themes. History, sociology and geography infused the painting of each region with local flavor. To some extent their style and quantity depended on the materials available in the place in which they were executed.These very factors help us to identify them region wise.And yet through all the apparent diversity these runs an underlying unity which makes them 'Indian'.

It is as old as the land, its trees, rivers, hills and humans. From time immemorial people or common 'folk' have articulated their instincts and  sentiments through the medium of painting.Images have been sketched on pots and pans, on walls of village houses, on dried leaves and later on clothes and paper. Executed almost all possible ways,folk art painting have been an integral part of Indian civilization.Evolving out of the cave paintings of prehistoric period,It continues to be a dynamic tradition.

The Indian art of painting is varied and diverse,like the cultures, to which they belong. Paintings rare made using a variety of medium.Traditional Indian paintings depict gods and goddesses, mythological scenes, scenes pertaining to erstwhile royal houses and scenes from daily life.

Folk paintings happen to be the most instinctive human expressions, evolving out of a mimetic urge and decorative purpose.Beautifying the world around and reaching out to the heavens above have been the motivating forces behind the tradition of Indian folk paintings.

Started as cave paintings of prehistoric period, folk painting continues to be a living tradition.Contemporary society has unearthed this immense treasure of folk paintings that was shrouded in anonymity and neglect Warli paintings, Madhubani paintings and other forms of traditional Indian folk art are internationally acclaimed possessions today.Guided by no formal school,bound by no orthodox method, folk paintings grows out of life and is sustained by life.Religious rituals,domestic beautification, familiar celebrations, Seasonal festivals are some of the inspirations behind the rise and growth of folk paintings in India.

Gods and goddesses, mythical figures, legendary heroes and glimpses of common man's life are the principal themes of folk paintings. Earthen colors were used in traditional folk paintings though currently synthetic colors are also in use. Usually the finery of folk painting is passed from one generation to the other. People belonging to a particular community assimilate the aesthetic and symbolic essence consciously or at times unconsciously by simply living in the environment where the art is practiced.