he
murals in the Sri Padmanabha temple, Trivandrum,
depicting Puranic themes are noted for
their remarkable finish and grace and
they belong to the period from the middle
of the 17th to the 18th century when the
pictorial art enjoyed full State patronage.
The Vishnu temple at Trikodithanam, the
Siva temples at Ettumanur and Vaikom,
the Subramonia temple, Udayanapuram, the
Vadakkunathan temple, Trichur, the Krishna
temple, Triprangode are among the many
temples of Kerala which contain exquisite
mural paintings.
Mural paintings with Hindu religious themes
may be seen in the many places. The Padmanabhapuram
palace has at its topmost floor (Upparika
malika) more than forty murals depicting
such themes as Anantasayanan, Lekshminarayana,
Krishna with Gopis, Nataraja as Dakshinamurthi,
Sastha on hunt etc. The bed chamber (Palliyara)
and four other chambers in the Dutch Palace,
Mattancheri, contain murals depicting
scenes from the Ramayana and Hindu mythology.
The Krishnapuram Palace at Kayamkulam
has preserved a large panel on Gajendramoksham
which has been assigned to the first half
of the 18th century. The Natyagriha
recently built in the Kalamandalam at
Cheruthuruthi (1977) contains the latest
specimens of mural paintings in Kerala.
The churches of Kerala contain paintings
which depict characters and scenes from
Christian mythology. The paintings of
Virgin Mary in the churches at Edappalli
and Vechur are of deep religious significance
to the devotees. The Orthodox Syrian churches
at Cheppad at Mulanthuruthi contain interesting
murals. The outer walls of the Kanjur
church have a huge mural which depicts
the scene of a battle fought between the
armies of Tipu Sultan on the one side
and those of the English East India Company,
aided by the bare - footed local militia,
on the other.
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Swati
Tirunal, the great ruler of Travancore,
extended generous patronage to
the art of painting. Alagiri Naidu,
a distinguished painter from Madurai
adorned his Court. He gave training
in the art of painting to Raja
Raja Varma of the Kilimanur royal
family and the latter in his turn
trained up his talented nephew
Raja Ravi Varma. The well-known
European oil painter, Theodore
Jenson, also initiated Raja Ravi
Varma into the technique of European
oil painting and helped him to
achieve international renown.
The innumerable pictures of Gods
and Goddesses painted by Raja
Ravi Varma which adorn most of
the Hindu homes all over India
are even today objects of mass
worship. Raja Ravi Varma's own
sister, Mangalabhai Tampuratti,
specialised herself in painting
pictures of women and children
which won universal appreciation
from connoisseurs of art. |
In modern times,
Kerala produced two outstanding painters,
viz., K. Madhava Menon and K.C.S. Panikar.
The former excelled in the portrayal of
plant and animal life. A refreshingly
original style of his own is Panikar's
legacy in the field.
Dhuleechitram
or powder drawing is a taditional way
of drawing mythical figures on floor using
natural pigments. This is called Kalam
(Kalamezhuthu). ‘Kalam’ is a ritual art
practised in temples and sacred groves
of Kerala where the representation of
deities like Kali, Lord Ayyappa, et al
are made on the floor using usually in
five colours. Vegetable and powders and
chemicals like lime or carbon powder.
Spice Paddy grains are also used. The
deities to be drawn is decided based on
various factors. Being a ritualistic art,
the presiding diety of the temple or sacred
grove, the religions purpose that calls
for the ritual, the particular sector
cast who does it all are deciding factors
as to the nature or figure on the ‘Kalam’.
This is a traditional art and observes
strict rules regarding what colours to
be used to depict a particular part of
the body, what to draw first and the order
in which each part of the body has to
drawn etc.. Once the Kalam is complete,
‘Poojas’ or worship of the deity will
be held. Ritual songs are also sung on
the occasion. There songs are most often
never written drawn, and handed from one
generation of the other through the vocal
tradition only.
Colours used: Powder rice is used
for white colour, and for the black powder
burn husk. For yellow, turmeric powder;
and for red, a mixture of lime and turmeric.
Dried and powder red leaves of specific
trees provide the green powder. In certain
dieties the breast is made with paddy
heaped in a cone shape.
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