Different schools of art compared

Table 1

	Mughal	Pahari	Rajasthani/Rajput	Madhubani/Mithila	Manjusha/Angika	Tanjore
Origin	Earlier Persian blend. Became Indian under Akbar.	Originated in the sub-Himalayan kingdoms of 19^th century.	Early 16^th century. Various sub-schools existed	Done traditionally by the women in the villages near the town of Madhubani. It originated as floor and wall paintings. Essentially a folk tradition		17^th century under the patronage of Tanjore’s Maratha rulers
Type	Mostly in miniature form	Mostly done in miniature form
Themes	Document of life at the Mughal court, battles, hunt, arrival of embassies, festivities Portrait paintings developed under Jahangir	Love of man for woman. Symbolised by Krishna and Radha	Strongly influenced by the contemporary literary and musical forms, and draw upon their motifs <details below>	Nature and Hindu religious motifs		Usually portrayed deities. Vishnu,Shiva and Krishna
Exceptional Point				Was originally practiced by Brahmins and Kayasthas. Later SC women also adopted it. But the themes of the two are different. While higher castes depicted mythological themes, SCs experimented with day-to-day scenes.
Characteristics	Realism is the keynote of this style Artists had made contacts with Western art. Influence can be seen.	Bold and intense – Basohli Delicate and lyrical; Tones subdued and lines exquisitely fine – Kangra	Decorate in their composition and colour scheme Landscape lacks the naturalism of the Mughal school	Two dimensional imagery. Colors derived from plants. No space is left empty. Gaps are filled by painting flowers, plants animals and even geometric shapes.	Snakes are a prominent feature	Artists adhered strictly to iconography as these paintings were made for ritual and worship and not for display as is mostly the case today.
Technique			Used wider canvas	Traditionally done as murals on mud walls. Now is also done one cloth, paper and canvas		Made on jackwood pasted with unbleached cloth to which a mixture of limestone, chalk powder, gum and honey are applied in layers on a sketch of the icon. Extra coats given to raise some parts of the painting. Jewellery etc are put.
Major Artists	Basawan, Daswanth, Kesudasa, Mansur			Jagdamba Devi, Mahasundari Devi
Major Works	Akbarnama illustrations; rare birds and animals – Falcon (CS Museum, Bombay), Red Blossoms – floral painting		Jodhpur and Nagaur paintings.
Major schools		Basohli, Guler, Kangra	Malwa, Mewar (Ragamala paintings), Marwar, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Bundi, Kotah	Bharni style, Kachni style
Patrons	Akbar, Jahangir	Raja Kripal Singh (Bahsoli)				Sarabhiji 2, Shivaji 2, Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar

Rajasthani Art Schools

Mewar (Ragamala)

themes from the life of Krishna and his frolic with the gopis; heroes and heroines of Hindi poetry.
Scenes from Bhagvata and Ramayana
Landscape lacks the naturalism of the Mughal school

Marwar

Genuine Rajput style evolved under this school
Equestrian portraits of the royal house and the nobility.
Show bold types of expression with broad, fish eyes in human faces
This school is essentially Hindu

Jaipur

Raslila was painted. It became ‘an earthly erotic amusement’

Manjusha Art

Manjushas are temple shaped boxes containing eight pillars
The boxes often contain the paintings of gods, goddesses and other characters
The boxes are used in Bishahari Puja
This is practiced in the Bhagalpur region of Bihar

Handicrafts

Channapatna toys
- Wooden toys from Karnataka
Nirmal Toys
- Wooden toys made in the town of Nirmal in Adilabad district
Tanjore doll
- Bobblehead made of terracotta

Sandpainting

Kolam

Drawn using rice powder by female members in front of their home
Mainly in South India

Rangoli

North India. Using sand colors, flour or flowers

Other fine arts

Mehandi
Pichhwai
- Intricate paintings that portray Lord Krishna
- Exist in the town of nathdwara in Rajasthan
Tarakashi
- A type of metalwork from Cuttack

Indian Art Awards

Kalaimamani
- By Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram
Kalidas Samman
- Presented by the MP govt
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Shilp Guru
- By GOI to a master craftsperson. Started in 2002.
Tulsi Samman
- By MP govt. In fields of art, theatre, dance and music.
Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award
- By Karnataka govt for excellence in painting

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