D’source 1

Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 2
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Design Resource Introduction

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Origin and Historical Background:
by Mysore Painting is a form of classical South Indian painting, which evolved in the Mysore city of Karnataka.
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William During the reign of the Wodeyarsand under their patronage the Mysore school of painting reached its height.
Mysore school whose best tradition was evident during the 17th, 18th and 19th century was relatively unknown to
and Mr. C. Susanth
the world. The paintings evolved as a refinement of the old Vijayanagar school as is evident from the art forms in
NID, Bengaluru
the ceiling of the Sri Virupaksha temple at the Hampi in Bellary district. In 1565 after the Vijayanagar empire fell
then it came to be called the Mysore school of painting. Raja Wodeyar rehabilitated the families of painters who
were in distress after the fall of Vijayanagar Empire. The successors of Raja Wodeyar namely “Ranadhira Kanth-
eerava Narasimharaja Wodeyar” and “Chikka devaraja Wodeyar” patronized art by getting the various temples
painted with deities and mythological scenes. But the consequent wars between Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and
Source: the British led to loss of these treasures. The Mysore style was again revived in early years of the 19th century
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/ under “Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar” (1799-1868). Some of the most beautiful and refined work was produced
introduction during his rule as the king himself took a very keen and personal interest in the art of painting. The illustrations
in the manuscript of the famous cultural encyclopedia ‘Sri Tattva-nidhi’ are examples of the king’s sophisticated
taste and patronage. Mysore paintings form a significant tradition of the classical south Indian paintings. These
1. Introduction paintings are famous for their elegance, peculiar usage of colors and the stress on detailing. It requires tremen-
dous hard work, patience as well as extraordinary expertise and proficiency to make a piece of Mysore painting.
2. Subjects and Techniques Under British hegemony, the Wodeyars, freed from security concerns, shifted attention to the patronage of the
3. Mysore Painting Process fine arts. Under their patronage, Mysore became a cultural centre of Karnataka, fostering a number of famous
4. Tools and Materials musicians, writers and painters.
5. Attempt of Exploration
Artists have different mindsets in terms of economy. In earlier times homeless artists used to take refuge in
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting king’s palace or wealthy people. Instead of giving money, they used to make paintings for them. Now a days, art-
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting ists decide the price of the painting on the basis of amount of gold foil used in the painting and the skill involved.
8. Influences on Mysore Painting Today also only wealthy people can afford to buy them. Carrying the old tradition in modern time is a status
9. Famous Mysore Artists symbol for people.

10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 3
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Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
introduction

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 4
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Design Resource Subjects and Techniques

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings In Mysore style of paintings the most popular themes are Goddess Rajarajeshwari and Sri Rama Pattabhishekam,
by Kodandarama, Dashavathara, Chamundeshwari apart from Lakshmi and Saraswathi, the coronation of Sri Rama
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William (Rama pattabhisheka), wedding of Shiva and Parvati (Girijakalyana), Sri Rama with bow and arrows (Kodanda-Ra-
ma), Sri Krishna with his foster mother (Yashoda-Krishna) and the goddess Chamundeshwari, the family deity
and Mr. C. Susanth
of the Mysore royal house. Occasionally portraits of the king and his family were painted. 19th century Mysore
NID, Bengaluru
artists created paintings of Hindu Myths, Gods and epic heroes as well as scenes of court life and battle. Though
the subjects were religious and mythological, the models were from real life.

The figures have features like fish shaped eye, round protruded chin, typical Mysore royal hairdo and drapping
style in sarees, depiction of royal jewellery, rounded face, Mysore turban. They depict sugarcane as bow and arrow
Source: in the pictures of Raja - Rajeshwari. The foot of goddesses is placed on flower in order to show the respect. And
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/ the architectural backgrounds of many paintings are faithful copies of the architectural features of the Mysore
subjects-and-techniques palace. There are many paintings in which the subjects they have shown are based on shlokas that are mentioned
in the book named “Devatahanama kusumamanjari” written by the king of Mysore “Mummadi Krishnaraja Wod-
eyar”. “Krishna Sakhis” is the example of painting in which the backside of the figure is shown. Another example
1. Introduction “Mantramayi Rama” where the artist has made the figure of Shri Rama, in which they have made the outline by
writing Rama in Kannada. Schematic themes of Tirupati, Sringapatna, Kanchipuram, Srikakulam, Kalhasti etc. pro-
2. Subjects and Techniques vided the base for the paintings in earlier times.
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 5
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
subjects-and-techniques

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 6
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
subjects-and-techniques

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 7
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
subjects-and-techniques

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 8
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Mysore Painting Process

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Earlier to make a base for painting, artists used to paste 10-20 layers of newspaper, on that they paste the draw-
by ing sheet over which they apply the paste of refined flour (Maida). Now days, artists have changed the technique
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William of using the base. They use mount board, over which they paste ivory sheet or cartridge sheet and start the
painting. The first step requires the artist to make a preliminary sketch of the image on the base. Thereafter, he
and Mr. C. Susanth
makes a paste of zinc oxide and Arabic gum, known as ‘gesso paste’. This paste is used to give a slightly raised
NID, Bengaluru
effect of carving to those parts of the painting that require embellishments and is allowed to dry. The artist does
two coatings of this paste to make a proper raised surface. Then, gold foil is pasted onto the surface, using Arabic
gum. Now a day’s fevicolis used in place of gum. Some artists apply varnish after gesso paste so as to avoid crack-
ing of gold foil in future. They left the gold foil dried for another 6-8 hours. After which they use brush to remove
the excess gold. Some used cotton in place of brush. Since it is gold foil, which is very expensive, they use the
Source: left out gold foil on some other surfaces of painting. The rest of the painting is prepared with the help of water
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my- colors. Initially they used natural dyes, which are replaced by synthetic poster colors and water colors in modern
sore-painting-process times.

The basic colors that we can see in any Mysore painting are primary colors: Red, Green and Blue. Earlier the
1. Introduction colours used were made out of natural resources and were very few like green, blue, yellow, red, black and white.
Colours were extracted from vegetables leaves and flowers. Earth colours were also used to a large extent. Colour
2. Subjects and Techniques preparation was interesting process in which the artists themselves were involved. For instance green was made
3. Mysore Painting Process from lemon juice, which was filled in copper container and buried for few days, and allow it to turn into green.
4. Tools and Materials They complete the painting in two coats. Starting with one color, the artist applies the same color in the painting
5. Attempt of Exploration where ever it is needed. Then the process moves on. In the place of gold, they apply yellow color; later on cover
it with slightly thick layer of Gesso paste. Over which they paste gold foil. Using a mixture of black Indian ink and
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting poster color to reduce the glossy effect does intricate design on gold foil. After the painting is fully dried, it is
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting covered with a thin paper and rubbed lightly with a smooth soft stone.
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists There are three types of paintings:
Paintings with plain gold foil without embossing.
10. Video Paintings with embossing.
11. Contact Details MakkiSafeda Work:
Firstly the base color is painted, then after shades of white color (zinc oxide: super white) is applied.
Border is compulsory in every painting; done in black and yellow color prominently. The artist highlights the main
figures in yellow color mainly to differentiate it from the background.
D’source 9
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 10
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 11
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 12
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 13
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 14
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my-
sore-painting-process

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 15
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Tools and Materials

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings In the traditional Mysore paintings, all the inputs were made by the artists like brushes, paints, board, gold foil,
by etc. The sketches were made with the help of charcoal, which was prepared by burning tamarind twigs in an
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William iron tube. The brushes were made of different materials, like squirrel hair, camel hair, goat hair, etc. Even today
the artists prefer squirrel haired brush instead of synthetic brushes because they are more durable and refined.
and Mr. C. Susanth
Some artists use plucker to remove the excess of gold foil. Variation exists in the procedure of mixing colors.
NID, Bengaluru
Some artists use ceramic tiles for better mixing of colors. For the background colors they use small dishes and co-
conut shells. They get the color in granular form and use it by mixing water. In case of poster colors they remove
the excess oil from the top to achieve matte finish. The process of making Arabic gum involves the artist gets it
in granular form and then dip it in water for overnight and then filter it using muslin cloth.

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
tools-and-materials

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 16
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
tools-and-materials

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 17
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Attempt of Exploration

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Apart from watercolor and poster color, now artists have also tried to work in acrylic medium so as to maintain
by the freshness of color for a long time. But they do feel that working in water color is much easier and handy
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William because they are free to give any kind of effect they wanted to give in the painting. It is easy to make intricate
designs in water color than acrylic. Acrylic color is used to show the flatness of background in painting. They have
and Mr. C. Susanth
also tried to change the treatment of figures. In some paintings the artists have shown angels with western hair-
NID, Bengaluru
do in which the artists have changed it into Indian hair style. They also attempted to change the position of the
figure and corrected the mistakes in the existing one.

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/at-
tempt-exploration

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 18
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Tanjore and Mysore Painting

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Tanjore painting involves numerous stages, such as meticulous layingout, prefect sketching, elegant ornamenting
by with stones, intricate embossing work and gold foiling the deities and finally the finishing enrichment. Embossing
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William is done with a mixture of raw lime stone powder sieved through the muslin cloth and mixed with chalk powder,
glue and copper sulphate in certain proportion. Gold leaves, semi precious stones and mirrors are used to give
and Mr. C. Susanth
it the grand look. In the olden days gold dust or bhasma was used instead of gold leaves. All the paintings are
NID, Bengaluru
done with traditionally made gold foils. Colors used for painting are fungus resistant. The painting lasts for gen-
erations. There are few differences between Tanjore and Mysore style of Painting. In Tanjore, the gesso work is
thicker in comparison to the Mysore painting. They also put wooden cardboard to increase the thickness of gesso
layer. That gives it a three dimensional feel. Color stones are used in Tanjore painting. In Tanjore painting, the
gold foil used is thick while in Mysore painting the foil is delicate in nature. In Tanjore paintings main subject is to
Source: depict the life of Krishna, where as in Mysore Style, theme is Universal.
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/tan-
jore-and-mysore-painting

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 19
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/tan-
jore-and-mysore-painting

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 20
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/tan-
jore-and-mysore-painting

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 21
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Mysore-Ganjifa Painting

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings “Ganjifa” is the name given to an ancient Indian card game. Historically the game is believed to be brought to
by India during the Mughal period. The name Ganjifa comes from the Persian word “Ganjifeh” which means play-
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William ing cards. The specialty of these cards is that they are traditionally hand-painted. The cards are typically circular
although some rectangular decks have been produced. This was a game that was popular and played across
and Mr. C. Susanth
Medieval India. Each region in the country had its own form of the game. There was the Sawantwadi-Ganjifa from
NID, Bengaluru
Maharashtra, Navadurga-Ganjifa from Orrisa, Rajasthan and GujratGanjifa, Kashmir Ganjifa, Nepal Ganjifa and
the Mysooru-Ganjifa. Mysooru-Ganjifa was extensively patronised by the Mysore Royal Family – The Wodeyar
Kings. Given that the main aim of the game was to teach, learn and tell stories from the ancient scriptures and
holy books, all the 18 games in the Mysooru-Ganjifa Style were set to stories and shloka’s from the Hindu Purana’s,
stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. The Dashavatara-Ganjifa which is a series based on the 10 differ-
Source: ent forms of the Hindu God Vishnu was the most popular of the 18 Ganjifa games. The Dashavatara-Ganjifa has a
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/my- set of 120 different playing cards. Today, apart from mythological subjects the artists have also started to paint
sore-ganjifa-painting subjects like portraits of maharaja.

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 22
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Influences on Mysore Painting

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Raja Ravi Varma’s Influence:
by Raja Ravi Varmahas influencedand inspired generations of artists from different streams in India. He was the first
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William artist to cast the Indian Gods and mythological characters in natural earthy surroundings using an European real-
ism; a depiction adopted not only by the Indian “calendar-art” spawning ubiquitous images of Gods and Goddess-
and Mr. C. Susanth
es, but also by literature and later by the Indian film industry affecting their dress and form even today. Raja Ravi
NID, Bengaluru
Varma influenced some of the Mysore Artists to some extent. The artists tried to bring the raja Ravi Verma style
realism in the Mysore paintings. They have tried to reproduce Ravi Varma’s painting in Mysore style.

Other Cultural Influences:

During the end part of 19th and in the beginning part of 20th century the introduction of the Graeco-Roman
Source: model of European art brought about a change in public attitudes and tastes, which caused some traditional
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/in- Mysore painters to undertake a complete change in the form and technique of their paintings. The figurative
fluences-mysore-painting style became more realistic under the European influence, developing a three-dimensional representation of
subject matter based upon the principles of perspective, anatomy and proportion. This caused consternation
among some groups who felt that the very essence of the Mysore tradition– formal and icon-like figures of gods
1. Introduction and goddesses that could be worshipped – was lost. However, others argued that the introduction of realistic
techniques could actually serve to enhance the devotional aspect of the traditional Mysore style, as the deities
2. Subjects and Techniques would be brought to life through the new techniques and thus the paintings would have greater impact upon the
3. Mysore Painting Process viewer.
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration There are three elements of Mysore Painting:
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting Indo- European Style Architecture: European pediments.
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting European Elements: Indian Gods and Goddesses sitting on French chair, European treatment of Clouds and Land-
9. Famous Mysore Artists scape, clock, candles, Angles, Chandelier. This is brought up because of Tipu Sultan’s relation with French.

10. Video Recurring Themes in several paintings: The typical way Mysore Saree is drapped, attitude on the faces of figures
11. Contact Details just like Mysore Maharanis, throne with seven steps, entire Mysore tradition and culture.

The Mysore style inherited details like absence of Naturalism, lines and dignity of contours, color and drapery
dispositions only for formal and ornamental purposes but it retained the DHAVALA details (Jain Scripture
“Kalpasutra”) like the sculpture models for drawing figure, the linear draughtsmanship, heavy and angular
features, postural expressions and the emphasis on contour lines. Delineation of forms, figures, postures, expres-
sions, Colors to highlight contours and competent and creative, folk elements in classical depictions.
D’source 23
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/in-
fluences-mysore-painting

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 24
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Famous Mysore Artists

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings Sri K.S. Shreehari: A painter who tried to revive and establish the family heritage in a more concrete manner.
by Apart from the subjects like Raja Rajeshwari, Sri Rama-pattabhisheka, Kodandarama, Tripuraasura-Samhaara, 32
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William forms of Ganesha and familiar themes of traditional painters of Mysore, Mr. Shreehari proved his expertise in the
paintings of such exotic themes like a zigzag puzzle like ‘Panchanaari-Turaga’, i.e., figure of horse comprising five
and Mr. C. Susanth
female figures and ‘Navanaari-Kunjara’ i.e., figure of elephant comprising nine female figures. One of his works
NID, Bengaluru
entitled ‘VirataVishwaroopa’ testifies to his eye for minutest details and a creative imagination, it represents a
form of Vishnu embodying the entire universe with all its animate and inanimate objects.

M. Ramanarasaiah: He was the curator of Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery for a long time and has executed most
of the paintings related to the Mysore Royal Family. Mr. Ramanarasaiah was the palace artist and was also in
Source: charge of the exhibits of the gallery. He is a very famous mysore artist. He has done a lot of paintings depicting
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/fa- Mysore culture and tradition, having the same subject/theme. He has been an inspiration for existing and upcom-
mous-mysore-artists ing Artists.

Ms. Chandrika: She is the daughter of Shri Ramanarasaiah and has been following her father’s footsteps. She
1. Introduction works on subjects mentioned in shlokas. Apart from Mysore painting, she has worked on Tanjore and Ganjifa
painting. She has also tried to replicate Raja Ravi Varma’s painting. She has rich experience of working with differ-
2. Subjects and Techniques ent medium like watercolor, acrylic and oil.
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials Mr. Aanand: Mr. Anand is one of the Mysore painting artist in Mysore. He has learnt this style of painting by him-
5. Attempt of Exploration self guided by famous artists in Mysore. Currently, he teaches many students and promotes this art. He works on
various subjects ranging from Gods, Goddesses and Dussehra Festivals. He also does retouching and curator’s job
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting for ruined paintings. He also does painting by mixing Tanjore and Mysore traditional painting styles water paint-
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting ing, oil painting, recreation of Ravi Varma’s paintings and photography.
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists B.P. Ramakrishna: Shri B.P. Ramakrishna is one of the traditional artists in Mysore with about 35 years of experi-
ence. He has two sons Ashwin and Naveen who are completely supporting his father in painting works. Shri B.P.
10. Video Ramakrishna also provides training on Mysore traditional painting. The basic training course is oftwo and half
11. Contact Details monthsduration.

R.G. Singh: Mr. R. G. Singh is a well known curator in Mysore. He has a great interest in Mysore paining and has a
good collection of Mysore painting. He has a complete historical account of Mysore Painting.
D’source 25
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/fa-
mous-mysore-artists

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 26
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/fa-
mous-mysore-artists

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 27
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/fa-
mous-mysore-artists

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 28
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource
Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/fa-
mous-mysore-artists

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 29
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Video

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru

Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/
video

1. Introduction
2. Subjects and Techniques
3. Mysore Painting Process
4. Tools and Materials
5. Attempt of Exploration
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting
Mysore Painting
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details
D’source 30
Digital Learning Environment for Design - www.dsource.in

Design Resource Contact Details

Mysore Painting
Classical South Indian Paintings
This documentation was done by Professor Bibhudutta
by
Baral, Mr. Antony William and Mr. C. Susanth at NID, Ben-
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Mr. Antony William
galuru.
and Mr. C. Susanth
NID, Bengaluru You can get in touch with Professor Bibhudutta Baral at
bibhudutta[at]nid.edu.

You could write to the following address regarding sug-

gestions and clarifications:
Source:
http://www.dsource.in/resource/mysore-painting/ Helpdesk Details:
contact-details Co-ordinator
Project e-kalpa
R & D Campus
1. Introduction National Institute of Design
#12 HMT Link Road, Off Tumkur Road
2. Subjects and Techniques Bengaluru 560 022
3. Mysore Painting Process India.
4. Tools and Materials
Phone: +91 80 2357 9054
5. Attempt of Exploration Fax: +91 80 23373086
6. Tanjore and Mysore Painting Email: dsource.in[at]gmail.com
7. Mysore-Ganjifa Painting
8. Influences on Mysore Painting
9. Famous Mysore Artists
10. Video
11. Contact Details