Tanjore Paintings

Tanjore painting is a major form of classical South Indian Painting from the town of Thanjavur, a period when the "Nayakas" of Thanjavur encouraged art, classical dance and music as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil. Tanjore Paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colours, compact composition and especially the Glittering Gold foils used to give the paintings their rich look. Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods,goddesses and saints. episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn upon as elaborations of main figures placed in the central section of the picture. Tanjore paintings panel paintings done on solid wood planks, and hence referred to as palagai padam ( palagai = "wooden plank" ; padam = "picture") in local parlance.

Techniques Behind Tanjore Paintings:

Making a Tanjore painting involves many stages. First the artist makes a preliminary sketch of the image on the base, which is a piece of cloth pasted onto wood. Then Chalk powder or zinc oxide is mixed with water-soluble adhesive and applied on the base. Sometimes a mild abrasive is used to make the base smoother. After the drawing is made, the jewellery and apparel in the image are decorated with semi-precious stones. Thread is also used to decorate the jewellery. A Mixture called "muk" is prepared using chalk powder and African gum in the ration of 2:1. The muk is applied in places around the stones and other areas to give an  embossed look. Gold foil is pasted on top of this. Finally, dyes are used to add colour to the figures in the paintings.

High quality gold foil is used to ensure that the paintings last generations. Paintings come in three finishes: classic, antique style and embossed. In the classic finish, bold colors and striking backgrounds are combined with high glitter gold foil, while in the antique style, with more subtle colors and plain backgrounds. The embossed paintings are similar to the classic style but are embossed to give greater depth.

The figure in Tanjore paintings are static and located in the center inside beautifully decorated arches or curtains. Eyes are broad, the outer lines are either brown or red, for Krishna they are blue. Originally only Krishna figures were painted but now a variety of figures are depicted.

Dasavatara - The Incarnations of Vishnu :

Dashavatara refers to the ten major incarnations of Vishnu, the Hindu God of universal preservation. Here, dasa means 'ten' and avatar means 'descent'. Predominantly, according to Hindu tradition, it is believed that God Vishnu incarnates on Earth from time to time to eradicate the evil forces and restore the Dharma.

The avatars in this list are also described as the lila-avatars.

Matsya Avatar- the fish. Lord Vishnu takes the form of a fish to save Manu (Earth) from a flood, after which he takes his boat to the new world along with one of every species of plant and animal, gathered in a massive cyclone.

Kurma Avatar - The tortoise. This appeared in the Satya Yuga. The devas and asuras were at war to gain the nectar of immortality. Mount Mandara started to sink and Lord Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to bear the weight of the mountain.

Varaha Avatar - The boar. This occurred in the Satya Yuga. Hiranyashika, a demon controlled the earth (Prithivi) and stored it between the oceans.  To restore the earth to its original position, Varaha engaged in a war that lasted over thousand years, in which he was victorious in the end.

Narasimha Avatar - The half-man/half-lion. This took place in the Satya Yuga. The demon Hiranyakashipu was granted a powerful boon by Brahma, making him immortal to all weapons and at all levels of the universe (sky, earth and stars). Lord Vishnu appeared as a half lion and half man to kill him with his claws, while he lay on his thighs.

Vamana Avatar - The dwarf. This appeared in the Treta Yuga. The fourth descendant of Hiranyakashyap, Bali defeated Lord Indra, which made all deities afraid of him and made them seek refuge with Lord Vishnu. Abiding by, Lord Vishnu appeared as Vamana between Brahmins and made Bali promise him three paces of land. Then Vamana stomped Bali’s head as third pace of land to defeat him. 

Parashurama Avatar - Rama with the axe. This appeared in the Treta Yuga. Parashurama is son of Jamadagni and Renuka who received an axe after a penance to Shiva. King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited Jamadagni at his ashram. Jamadagni was able to feed them with the divine cow Kamadhenu. The king demanded the animal but Jamadagni refused. Outraged king took it by force and destroyed the ashram. Parashurama then killed the king at his palace and destroyed his army. In revenge, the sons of Kartavirya killed Jamadagni. Parashurama took a vow to kill every Kshatriya on earth twenty-one times over, and filled five lakes with their blood. Ultimately, his grandfather, the great rishi Rucheeka, appeared and made him halt. 

Rama Avatar - The king of Ayodhya. This appeared in the Treta Yuga. This cult is explained in detail in the Major Indian scripture Ramayana. Rama’s wife Sita was kidnapped by a demon king Ravanan to Lanka. Rama along with his brother Lakshman and his trusted follower Hanuman waged a war and defeated Ravanan.

Balarama Avatar / Adhishesha – Brother of Krishna. This took place in the Dwarapa Yuga. Kamsa brother of his mother, Devaki was intending in killing her children as he was afraid of death to be caused by them. In order to save the children, Lord Vishnu transferred the souls from the womb of Devaki to Rohini and twined it with a black and white hair. As a result, Krishna was born black and Balarama was born fair. Subsequently, Balarama grew up with his brother Krishna and also played a major role in the Battle of Kurukshetra where he remained neutral between his disciples Duryodhana and Bhima.

Krishna Avatar - Eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev. He appeared in the Dwapara Yuga alongside his brother Balarama. He was the central character of the Bhagavad Gita. He is mentor to Arjuna, delivering him the Gita at the Battle of Kurukshetra. The appearance of Krishna coincided with the beginning of Kali Yuga.

Kalki Avatar - White horse with his sword blazing like a comet. This is the final incarnation of Vishnu, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, our present epoch. He is the harbinger of end time in Hindu eschatology, and will destroy all unrighteousness and evil at the end of Kali Yuga.