Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain, Others
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 403

Introduction
381
painting in Uttar Pradesh was not confined to religious texts alone. The works of the poets in Avadhī such as Lauracandā, Mrgāvata etc. became favourite subjects of the Jaina painting.
The Jaina patrons invited such artists from Mughal capital cities to execute the Jaina manuscripts. The manuscript Yasodharacarita is one of the examples which mentions in its colophon that the scribe was hailed from the neighbouring town of Ajmer. Similarly, the painters were also engaged. Such artists transported their style wherever they worked with little bearing of the place of execution.
Among the documents which exemplify the various sub-styles of the Gujarat style is a manuscript of poet Haidhu's composition of the Yasodharacarita. It was painted at Ahmedabad in A.D. 1712 and the artists of this manuscript based their paintings on prototype. They copied the compositional formulae from the prototype but were free to use their own style as well as to select colours. The Upadeśamala, dated A.D. 1709, is another manuscript from Gujarat school. The style of its miniatures is quite charming, specially its landscape.
Among Digambara Jaina texts there is a manuscript of the Yasodharacarita painted in A.D. 1590 at Amer. It shows the prolongation of the style found in the Nayamandira Mahapuräna but without the farther eye and the angular exaggerations and distortions. The style of the painting with its simplified static compositions and archaism betrays a loss of vitality.
In A.D. 1606, near Amer, a copy of the Adipurāņa was painted but could not be completed. The illustrations of the manuscript show folkish expression which can be traced in the Caurapañcāśikā style. In the manuscript the methodology in illustrating the scenes differs from the practice followed in the foregoing periods when the painter after completing one miniature proceeded to next. In completion of the painting there were stages — the master artist first wrote the captions on the folios, thereafter the artist-draughtsman drew the figures and at the third stage the colours were applied to the composition.
Towards the last stage only the finishing touches were added. In this way in the completion of any illustration a group of artists was required. This change in workmethods may have been caused by the atelier system established at the Mughal court. However, the artists moved from place to place for their work.
In Gujarat towards the closing decades of the 16th century A.D. the developments and departures from the earlier style are most noticeable in the delineation of the human figures which have shed the farther eye and are now shown without the characteristic of angular body distortions. A wide range of colours was used including some unusual and novel hues such as lilac and dull green. Costly gold and silver were not employed. Certain stylistic devices, such as the red ground and the ornamental designs which serve to fill in vacant areas of the composition, linger on from the preceding period though in different form, and can be identified as stylistic components of the school of Gujarat.
in the 17" century A.D. the popular religious Jaina and other themes in Western India were well known. Different Jaina stories became popular with the illustrations, which are generally of folk variety. There was a large demand for illustrating manuscripts from the Jainas of Gujarat and therefore painters started working at many centres to satisfy the ever growing demands. There were several centres in Gujarat such as Patana, Cambay, Swat, Vadnagar, Idar, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Matar, Ahmedabad etc. indicating a flourishing state of painting in Gujarat. Painters of Gujarat played an important part in the Mughal atelier of Akbar. In the courts of Akbar and Jahangir a number of artists worked for the art of books.
The pupils of these painters spread out in search of their livelihood to Gujarat and Rajasthan. Several of them worked outside the courts for the patrons and nobles blending the style of Mughal court with indigenous traits which laid the foundation of Popular Mughal (combination of indigenous and Mughal traditions) style which became very popular. In this
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