Thanjavur painting is a classical South Indian painting style, originating from the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. The art form draws its immediate resources and inspiration from way back about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur under the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara Rayas encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil and painting of chiefly Hindu religious subjects in temples. However, it can safely be surmised that Thanjavur painting, as we know it now, originated in the Maratha court of Thanjavur (1676–1855). It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2007–08.
Thanjavur paintings are characterised by rich and vivid colours, simple iconic composition, glittering gold foils overlaid on delicate but extensive gesso work, and inlay of glass beads and pieces or very rarely precious and semi-precious gems. In Thanjavur paintings one can see the influence of Deccani, Vijayanagara, Maratha, and even European or Company styles of painting. Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu Puranas, Sthala-puranas and other religious texts were visualised, sketched or traced and painted with the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture (mostly within an architecturally delineated space such as a mantapa or prabhavali) surrounded by several subsidiary figures, themes and subjects. There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects were depicted in Tanjore paintings.
Thanjavur paintings are panel paintings done on wooden planks, and hence referred to as palagai padam (palagai = "wooden plank"; padam = "picture") in local parlance. In modern times, these paintings have become souvenirs for festive occasions in South India.
Style and technique Thanjavur paintings were made in various sizes depending upon the function, the subject and the choice of the patron. Large paintings of deities and the Maratha rulers, their courtiers and nobility, were painted and installed to serve as architectural accents in the Maratha palaces and buildings. To quote Dallapiccola – "The works, executed on canvas pasted on a wooden support, were framed – a major departure from the pan-Indian tradition, in which paintings are of small size – and designed to be hung on the walls of domestic puja rooms or in bhajan halls. The themes, as in painted albums, (made for European patrons) were usually gods and goddesses, holy places, religious personalities and occasionally portraits. Their dazzling palette consisted generally of vivid reds, deep greens, chalk white, turquoise blues and the lavish use of gold (foil) and inset glass beads. Sometimes precious stones were also used in the paintings. The large format of the majority of such works and the relatively simple composition are the hallmark of the style. This school was greatly inspired by European techniques and was the most popular in Tamil Nadu until the early twentieth century."South Indian Paintings – A catalogue of the British Museum collection by A. L. Dallapiccola Published by Mapin Publishing in association with the British Museum Press
Paintings in addition to being done on canvas, were also done on walls, wooden panel, glass, paper, mica and exotic media such as ivory. Small Ivory portraits were typically worn as cameo pendants called rajaharam and were quite popular.
Thanjavur glass paintings following the techniques of Chinese reverse glass paintings were popularised during Serfoji II's reign as a cheaper and faster craft. The paintings were done on the reverse surface of a glass sheet with strips of metal beaten into transparent gaps to simulate the effect of jewellery and precious stones. Most of the paintings were of Hindu deities & saints. Other courtly and secular portraits were also created.
A Thanjavur Painting was generally made on a canvas pasted over a plank of wood (Jackfruit or teak) with Arabic gum. The canvas was then evenly coated with a paste of French chalk (gopi) or powdered limestone and a binding medium and dried. The artist then drew or traced using a stencil, a detailed outline of the main and subsidiary subjects on the canvas. A paste, made of limestone powder and a binding medium called sukkan or makku, was used for creating the Gesso work. Gold leaves and gems of varied hues were inlaid in selected areas like pillars, arches, thrones, dresses, etc. Finally, colours were applied on the sketch.
In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable and mineral dyes, whereas the present day artists use chemical paints. For outlines dark brown or red was usually used. Red was favoured for the background, though blue and green were also used. Lord Vishnu, was coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white, and his consort Goddess Sivakami was green. The sky, of course, was blue, but black was also employed on occasions. The portrayal of figures in the paintings was also typical with almost all the figures having rounded faces with almond-shaped eyes and smooth, streamlined bodies. The composition is static and two-dimensional with the figures placed within arches, curtains, and decorative borders. The main subject is much larger than the other subjects and occupies the centre of the painting. Seraphs or angels resembling those in European paintings and Islamic miniatures were also shown flanking the main figure. The figures were painted with bright flat colours except for the face where shading was shown. The shading in Thanjavur art was more to create a feeling of depth than to conform to the European conventions of lighting and perspective.
There are some examples of this art in the Saraswathi Mahal Library, in Tanjore built by Serfoji II. The Sanskrit work Prabotha Chandrodayam in the library has a few pages of Tanjore art as also Marathi translations of Mahabharata & Bhagavatham in which are found the works of the painter Madhava swami dated 1824 AD. Faint traces of Maratha style paintings inset with glass are found on the walls of the Thiruvaiyaru Chatram built by Serfoji after his pilgrimage to Kashi.Thanjavur – A Cultural History by Pradeep Chakravarthy Published by Niyogi Books Many other buildings in and around Thanjavur have fine examples of the paintings on the roofs and walls, though many are gradually disappearing and dying due to serious neglect and acts of vandalism.
The Government Museum, Chennai and the Thanjavur Art Gallery,Frommer's India by Pippa de Bruyn, Keith Bain, David Allardice, Shonar Joshi Thanjavur also house fine collections of Thanjavur paintings depicting the Maratha kings of Thanjavur and other allied subjects. Many private museums and collectors also possess enviable collections of Thanjavur paintings.Hasta Shilpa heritage village, Manipal
The British and Victoria & Albert museums in England also house a large collection of Thanjavur paintings in the company and traditional styles. The National Museum of Copenhagen also houses a fine collection of 17th century Thanjavur paintings. King Christian IV of Denmark had received permission to build a fort at Tranquebar (Tharangambadi in Tamil) which led to the building of the Danesborg fort as also a Danish relationship with Thanjavur which resulted in the museum collection.Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand Footprint Focus Guide By Andrew Spooner
Influences
Thanjavur houses the 11th century Chola wall paintings in the Brihadeeswarar temple as also paintings from the Nayak period (many times superimposed on the earlier Chola paintingsPreserving the past – Unique achievement by archaeologists in restoring Thanjavur paintings – S.H. Venkatramani in Thanjavur 19 November 2013 | UPDATED 16:06 IST https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/heritage/story/19880131-unique-achievement-by-archaeologists-in-restoring-thanjavur-paintings-769031-2013-11-18) dating to the 16th century. In 1521–22, Krishnadevaraya travelled to the Tamil country visiting holy places and as was his wont, made munificent donations to temples and other religious establishments. It can be surmised that some of this munificence was also channeled into art and artists. The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire and the sack of Hampi in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 CE resulted in the migration of painters who had been dependent on the patronage of the empire. Some of them migrated to Thanjavur and worked under the patronage of the Thanjavur Nayakas. The Thanjavur Nayaka line commenced with Sevappa Nayaka (1532–72). Sevappa ruled for several years, ably supported by his son Achyutappa (1564–1614), who later succeeded him. It was during Achyutappa's reign that the Vijayanagara empire fell, leading to the exodus of numerous litterateurs, philosophers, musicians and artists who migrated to several other neighbouring kingdoms like Mysore and Thanjavur. Achyutappa was succeeded by his son Raghunatha Nayaka who in turn was succeeded by Vijayaraghava Nayaka. Raghunatha, who was possibly the most successful Thanjavur Nayaka ruler, was also a great patron of art and artists and helped establish the unique school of Thanjavur artists who later evolved the Thanjavur style of paintings under the Marathas. Subsequently, the Maratha rulers who defeated the Thanjavur Nayakas began to nurture the Thanjavur atelier. The artists absorbed the local influences and the individual tastes of their Maratha patrons which helped evolve the unique Thanjavur style of painting. The Thanjavur artists in addition to decorating temples also began painting and decorating the major buildings, palaces, chatrams and residences of the Maratha kings and nobility. The Tanjore style of paintings spring from a late phase of South Indian classical art, when the society in which it originated was itself going through turbulent times. Needless to say, Tanjore paintings are informed by a syncretic style, notable for its assimilation of the contemporary diverse cultural influences – Tamil, Telugu, Maratha, European, Deccani, Folk, etc. The style drew heavily from the other major South Indian styles of painting which were all deeply influenced by the Vijayanagara school. The closest influences among these could be the Kalamkari and Tirupati paintings.
Tirupati paintings, in particular were produced in the famous temple town using different media and techniques, like painted terracotta reliefs, brass repousse works, paintings on paper and canvas, etc. The commonest examples were painted and gilded terracotta relief slabs of the deity, framed and packaged in neat wooden boxes which could be carried back as holy memorabilia and worshipped in the Puja room by the pilgrim-devotee. Paintings of the main deity, gilded and gem-set, in a manner similar to Tanjore paintings are also known.
Tanjore paintings were also closely related to the crafts of painted and carved wood on the one hand and gilded, stone set jewellery work which flourished in Thanjavur. It is also pertinent to remember that Thanjavur art was functional, in that it was made for a specific purpose on a specific demand from a customer. And it is also in the same context that one understands the iconic style of Thanjavur paintings in contrast to say, the Pahari miniatures or even Surpur paintings.Tanjavur Painting of the Maratha Period, By Jaya Appasamy Published by Abhinav publications
By the time Serfoji II succeeded to the Maratha throne in Thanjavur, the Britishers had taken over the complete administration of the state, retaining the king in only a nominal capacity to exercise power over the fort and a smidgen of surrounding lands. Though Serfoji II had to fight off a spirited competition from Amarasimha, his paternal uncle, to the Maratha throne of Thanjavur, it was during his reign that Thanjavur painting flourished and reached the form and style in which we recognise it today.