ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 72

painting. The line now becomes smooth and flowing; it includes a wide spectrum of colours accentuated by touches of gold and silver. However, no example of painting tradition survive from Delhi before and during the 15th century except a vet mbara Jaina text of K Ik c rya-Kath painted on paper at Delhi in A.D. 1366 and the di-Pur a executed in A.D. 1404 for the Digambara Jains.' The western variant is refined in the execution and the broad spectrum of its palette is enriched with costly colours like gold and silver, lapis-lazuli and carmine. An unprecedented richness was provided to the manuscripts. Decorative patterns drawn from architecture, textiles, carpets, figures of dancers and musicians, devotees and monks, wrestlers, bird and animals, flower creepers etc. fill the border decoration of the manuscripts. Under the impetus of new movement the painters of Gujarat were evolving a new style in which Persian classics played an important part. The Persian classics were painted. In such illustrations Indian artists had simplified the Persian elements and tried to synthesise the Indian and Persian elements. In this period the stories such as Laur-Canda and Mṛgāvati etc. were being illustrated in the Jain style. The illustrator shows a greater understanding of the landscape and of the social environment in such examples.
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In the second half of the 15th century Vais avas also adopted the Western Indian technique for illustrating some of their books such as the Gt govinda and B lagop lastuti. However, these manuscripts show liveliness, a sense of movement and an emotional understanding that is different from Jain paintings, so hardbound by the stereotyped tradition. The convention of the farther protruding eye never appears; the uttariya, instead of being draped softly over the head and around the body, is painted to stand out stiffly behind the figure. In the Gt govinda manuscript of 1610, the female dancers are in paj m s and wearing a coat with pointed ends showing the Jain style gradually breaking away from its conventions and absorbing new methods and ideas. The B lagop lastut of 17th century shows further changes. This new movement in art was not confined to Gujarat, Malwa and Rajasthan only. The movement had spread as far as Uttar Pradesh and has affected the progress of painting in that part as evidenced by the illustrations of the Kalpa-S tra painted at Jaunpur in A.D. 1465. Besides texts like the Kalpa-S tra, K laka-Kath that was transcribed together in one manuscript, the Jains had already started illustrating several kath s (stories, legends, myths). The illustrated versions of Kalpa-S tra2 and the K Ik c rya-Kath 3 were executed for lay votaries of the vet mbara sect in areas distinct from Gujarat and Rajasthan.
In 15th century the intrinsic beauty of the Jain miniatures begins to fade. There is a perceptible decline in execution the line loses its verve, the rendering becomes markedly angular and the protruding farther eye becomes very pronounced. The miniatures strike as being reduced to formulae, repeated over and over again with little variation. The polychromatic palette is now narrowed down to two basic colours red and gold. For gold the gold-leaf was used instead of gold paint. The painter began to work covering the entire area of miniature with a thin sheet of goldenleaf, then proceeded to outline the human figures and other motifs in black ink. After the completion of drawing the ground area is painted in red and the figures and the motifs were treated as negative spaces in the compositions. The whole painting was enlivened with a few accently in other colours. Occasionally, the folios of the manuscript were adorned with decorative designs such as floral and geometrical motifs in the margins and the panels above and below the text.
Around the middle of the 15th century, blue-ultramarine as well as lapis-lazuli superseded red as the favoured colour in Jain miniatures. The folios of the manuscripts were embellished with intricate scrollwork. In 15th century there was progressively increasing activity to enrich the manuscripts with border decorations. The border decorations become more complex, depicting flowering creepers, birds and animals, geometrical designs and other interesting subjects like dancers, musicians, wrestlers, foreign soldiers and animal trainers etc. Most of these scenes may be seen in the manuscript of the Dev s no P òo Kalpa-S tra and K lak c rya-Kath. In the closing years of the 15th century, the art of Jains began to take new directions. The farther eye had gradually lost its organic hold and it had become merely a decorative feature. The style of painting in Western India deteriorating in terms of line and compositional values and became dull and fatigued, although it maintain blue and gold palette.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0