Miniature Paintings – Techniques and Early Miniature

There is different classification of Indian Paintings like Mural paintings, Miniature paintings etc. The word ‘miniature’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Minium’ which means red lead paint. The miniature painting art was developed in India between 8^th and 12^th centuries and further flourished with coming centuries. Miniatures are small and detailed paintings and there are different schools which developed with time.

Also Read : Mural Paintings in India

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Techniques of Miniature Paintings

The miniature paintings need to fulfil the preconditions established by the long traditions. There are certain preconditions like the painting should not be larger than 25 square inch and the subject of the painting should not be painted in more than 1/6^th of actual size. The human figures in most of the Indian miniature paintings are seen with side profile.

Human figurines usually have bulging eyes, pointed nose and slim waist. In the Mughal paintings, the skin colors are generally fairer while in Rajasthani miniatures, the skin is colored with brown color. The women figurines have long hair and color of their eyes and hair are generally black. The divine beings like Lord Krishna were painted with blue color.

Early Miniature Paintings

The miniature paintings are mainly painted for books or albums, on perishable material including paper, palm leaves and cloth because as we discussed miniature paintings are small in size developed with minute details. There are two prominent school of miniature which flourished between 8^th and 12^th centuries; Pala School of art and Apabhramsa school of art.

Pala School of Art

The paintings of Pala school of art are mostly founded as a part of the manuscripts which were generally executed on palm leaf or vellum paper. This school flourished during the c.  750 AD – c. 1150 AD, and these mostly used by Buddhist monks. These paintings were characterized by sinuous lines and subdued tones of the background imagery.

The lone single figures were dominated these paintings as the paintings of group rarely founded for Pala school of art. These paintings were patronised the rulers who followed Buddhism. The themes of Vajrayana school of Buddhism also used in the Pala school of paintings. Dhimman and Vitapala were the prominent painters of Pala school.

Apabhramsa School of Art

This school of art was flourished during the 11^th to 15^th century AD, in the region of Gujarat and Mewar (Rajasthan). The common theme of this school paintings were Jainism and Vaishnava in later period. This school bring the concept of Gita Govinda and otherwise paintings were dominated by Jainism. Palm leaf was used in early period and in later period paper used for paintings.

The colors like red, yellow and ochre; used in the paintings of this school had symbolic meanings. The human figurines of these paintings have fish-shaped bulging eyes, a pointed nose and double chin. The angular faces were used for third and fourth profiles. The birds and animals were represented in paintings as toys. Kalpastura and Kalakacharya Katha are the most famous examples of this school.  

Transition Period Miniature Paintings

The coming of Muslim rulers to India brought number of changes in India. The cultural synthesis also impacted the art of paintings in India which result in emergence of new miniature arts in India. In the southern region, the emergence of Vijayanagara empire helped in developing the Deccani style of painting. In these paintings, colors were applied in a flat manner and black color was used as dress and human outlines. They didn’t try to replicate the natural appearance of the subject.

Thus, the miniature art of paintings took another shape with in India.