Revival | Pichwai Paintings | Pichwai Tradition & Beyond

DECCAN CLOTH

Known for noteworthy painting traditions in formats spanning from miniature paintings to wall murals, Deccan Pichvais are stylistically distinct from their Nathdwara counterparts. Made by stencilling images onto a piece of cloth and followed by application of gold foil with an adhesive, they are extensively recognised for their extravagant use of gold. Most commonly associated with Deccan are the golden figurative Pichvais painted on either red or blue-black dyed cotton and, within this distinct group, red Pichvais are particularly rare and highly desired.

Historically created for adorning shrines at home during the varsha season (monsoon) and the gold and silver Pichvais depicted an adolescent Krishna being venerated by gopis. A symbolic portrayal of Krishna as a kadamba tree, commonly found in the forests of Vraj and associated with Krishna’s childhood and adolescence, characterised the Deccan Pichvais. And this particular stylistic composition came to be referred to as Vrikshachari (tree dweller).

At the time, a few artists from Udaipur learnt the gold and silver foiling technique from artisans in Hyderabad and later, combined the two art forms resulting in an amalgamation even more delightful on examination. A Nathdwara artist would sketch a traditional composition while another would complete it with foiling techniques adapted from Deccan with notable use of colour.

Carefully handpicked selection of Pichvais at Pichvai Tradition and Beyond innovatively reinterprets the traditional idiom from the Deccan region in miniature style.

TEMPLE MAPS

Pichvai Tradition and Beyond’s atelier specialises in temple maps and uses cloth as well as paper as mediums to present them in varying sizes in a contemporary context. They exemplify the versatility of the atelier, ranging from miniature to large-scale compositions with the same intensity of form and colour. The pichvais of Shrinathji’s haveli feature the visual representation of the town of Nathdwara. The haveli comprises a maze of streets and architecture and their internal and external environs. This genre is widely popular among devotees as these paintings recreate the experience of Shrinathji’s darshan.

It is believed among the devotees of the Pushtimarg sect that the viewer can experience parikrama, holy circumambulation of a sacred spot, by a darshan of these haveli pichvais, particularly during the festival of Govardhan Puja, which is typically depicted in them.

KOTA

Nathdwara pichvais have imbibed an amalgamation of different artistic styles from different regions in Rajasthan. Kota has had a major stylistic influence on the paintings of Nathdwara. In fact, outside of Nathdwara, Kota has the largest number of havelis (Pushtimarg temples).

During the 19th century, Nathdwara pichvais began to display a strong influence of the Kota style. During this period, the posture of the figures depicted in Nathdwara paintings were more graceful, the colours became more muted in pastel-like shades in place of bright colours. Shrinathji, earlier painted in dark indigo, was now painted in ultramarine blue. In the Kota style, the portrait of Shrinathji is distinctly characterised by a short figure, roundish broad face and eyes. The short, plump stature of the deity is meant to emphasise that the child God is seven years old.

PTB has used the minimalistic composition of the Kota style pichvais and grouped and displayed them in a contemporary new language.

LOTUS

Evoking appropriate bhavs or emotions to enhance the experience of darshan is significant in the creation of Pichvais. Rooted in the overarching sentiment associated with the neo-vaishnavite bhakti movements towards adoration of Lord Krishna - love, devotion and surrender form the cornerstones of veneration of the divine. And cultivating such profound emotions that connect the devotees to the Shrinathji is one of the highest spiritual pursuits in the Pushtimarg tradition.

Introduced in the 18th Century, the painted lotus Pichvais are typically displayed during the Ganga Dashmi festival and summer months to create a genteel and cool atmosphere in the sanctum of Shrinathji. The repetitive use of lotus motifs on these Pichvais denotes expansive lotus ponds and the banks of river Yamuna where the young Krishna spent much of his time with his beloved gopis.

Some Kamalan ki Pichvais or Lotus Pichvais illustrate Gokulchandramaji, a swaroop of Krishna, playing his flute under a pavilion of roses in the middle of river Yamuna with curling lotus stems, fanlike leaves and numerous bees swarming around the image of Gokulchandramaji in the centre.

The visual presented in this Pichvai uses the popular metaphor from the ashtachhap poems where Lord Krishna is compared to a bee and his beloved gopis to lotuses.

NATHDWARA

The preeminent style of Pichwai painting that originated 400 years ago in the holy town near Udaipur, Rajasthan is generally called ‘Nathdwara’. Several highly skilled artists and their families accompanied the swaroop of Shrinathji and settled in close proximity to the temple or haveli, in a location that came to be known as chitrakaron ki gali (the painter’s street). (may seem unconnected to a layman)

The formative period of the Nathdwara School absorbed a miscellany of different styles from Rajasthan such as the Mewar tradition of painting as well as the formal meticulousness of the Jaipur School (influenced by the Mughal style), Bundi, Kota, Jodhpur and Kishangarh. The refined mannerism of the Kishangarh School with its unusually curved and elongated treatment of the eye became a strong source of inspiration for several Nathdwara Pichvais.

While the Nathdwara style continued to flourish throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries, a distinct Nathdwara idiom characterised by dreamy-eyed cows, human figures with fuller bodies, bell-shaped skirts and large almond eyes emerged. The figures featured in Nathdwara paintings were symbolised as short and broad shouldered with slender waists. The portrayal of Shrinathji in Pichvais with crescent-shaped eyes painted looking downwards towards the feet, as a gesture of his abundant grace, a short body with a blue-black complexion and the typical attire of the Pushtimargis became significant.