Large Maiyya Yashoda with Bal Krishna Tanjore Painting | Traditional Colors with 24K Gold | Teakwood Frame

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With her attire and ornaments laced with gold, Maa Yashoda sits on the floor of her palace, churning milk in a pot to procure butter. She is dressed in the manner of a traditional South Indian lady, with a distinctive hairstyle and ethnic Bindi (dot on the forehead). The interplay of red and green stones on her figure enhances the artistic appeal of Maa Yashoda in this Thanjavur painting. Picking a piece of butter from the pot, Maa Yashoda lovingly offers it to Krishna, who sits nearby, in a posture that has become characteristic of his depictions as a child in Indian art.

Bal Krishna is an enchanting baby, adorned with various ornaments and an elaborate hairdo with feathers, gold jewelry, and a peacock feather tucked in it. His tiny fingers are placed on the mouth of the pot as if asking his mother to let him have a morsel of his favorite butter. Both Krishna and Maa Yashoda’s eyes in this Bal Krishna Tanjore painting face the audience, a typical feature of Tanjore art that brings a sense of interaction to the otherwise ethereal golden art. Infused with the divinely maternal instincts of Maa Yashoda and the heart-warming innocence of Bal Krishna, this piece of Tanjore art is moving imagery of the sweetness of Krishna as a child.

Gilded Elegance: Unraveling the Artistry of Tanjore Paintings

Tanjore painting is a traditional form of art in the South Indian style and was started by the inhabitants of a small town known as Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu. This gives it another name called “Thanjavur painting”. This painting draws its figures, designs, and inspiration from the time when Vedic culture was prevalent in India. Certain remarkable features of a Tanjore painting distinguish it from other paintings. Some of these are pure gold or gold foil coating on gesso work, the use of rich and vivid colors, and the inlay of cut-glass or semi-precious and precious stones. The subjects of most of the Tanjore paintings are Hindu Gods, Goddesses, and saints. The main devotional figure is portrayed in the central portion of the painting and is usually surrounded by various secondary figures.

The process of making a Tanjore painting

The classic Tanjore paintings are done on wooden planks and hence are also referred to as Palagai Padam in South India (Palagai = Wooden plank, Padam = Picture). Creating a masterpiece is never an easy task but the skilled artists of Thanjavur have been following the tradition of making timeless Tanjore paintings for decades.

The making process begins with preparing the wooden board or canvas. The size of the board depends upon the choice of the patron. The next step is to paste cardboard over the wooden board and then a cotton fabric is stretched and pasted upon it using Arabic gum.

Now that the cloth is attached to the wooden panel, a rough sketch of the motifs and figure is drawn onto the fabric. After this, a paste of chalk powder and water-soluble adhesive is evenly applied over the base and smoothed.

Thereafter, the outlines which were made or traced using a stencil are now ready to be beautified and decked with various add-ons. The usual materials for decoration are cut-glass, pearls, semi-precious and precious gems, gold leaf, and laces. 22 or 18 Karat Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are especially inlaid in areas like pillars, arches, walls, thrones, and dresses. In the final step, the rest of the painting is filled with rich and striking colors such as shades of red, blue, and green. Formerly, the artists used natural colors like vegetable and mineral dyes instead of chemical paints. The entire painting is then cleaned and refined to give a flawless finished look.

Since the making of a single piece of Tanjore painting requires a complex and elaborate process, the artists usually take at least one or two months to complete it. The use of pure gold foil and gems for beautification is a characteristic of an authentic Tanjore painting. Due to this, Tanjore paintings last for generations without getting tarnished and are much more expensive than general paintings. Though the art form has undergone various changes and technique modifications over the years, it continues to attract the hearts of art lovers.