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JAIN MINIATURE PAINTINGS

Jain Miniatures

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an analysis of the art styles and the techniques used in some of the important and famous jain miniature paintings of india

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Page 1: Jain Miniatures

JAIN MINIATURE

PAINTINGS

Page 2: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

What is a miniature painting?

•Miniature is often used in the sense of "small

representation"

•It is a form of fine art on a smaller scale

•It has artistic and intricate details and fineness

•These paintings depict discipline through all stages of

production

•It's fundamental to reduce the image of the subject

matter and transfer it on a plain base in a very

diminutive scale, the more diminutive, the better

•Pala, Orissa, Jain, Mughal, Rajasthani, Deccani,

Pahari, Nepali etc. are names of different schools of

Indian Miniatures.

•Every school had its own distinctive style of paintings-

be it the topic, material or colours

•These paintings were initially done on „tala patra‟

•The subjects of these paintings were either related to

relegious rituals, daily activities, stories and folklores or

merely the patrons (mainly the rulers)

Page 3: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

Jain Miniature Painting

•The earliest miniature paintings of India are the Jain

illustrations of the 11th century in the „Kalpasutra‟ and

„Kalkacharya Katha‟

•. Jain Miniatures used strong pure colours.

•They employed vibrant inks and dyes in red, blue, green

gold and silver.

•Female figure were rare in Jain school. However some

were found there but they were of worshipped Goddesses

of the TirthanKaras

•There were some very distinctive features of jain

mininatures:

•Stylish figures with heavy gold outlines

•Reduction of dress to angular segments

•Enlarged eyes

•Square shapes of hands

•Paintings of the eyes have been a speciality of this

school.

The paintings „Ek Chasma‟ (side profile) „Dedh Chasma‟

(one and a half eye face) have been done in this school

Page 4: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

• The identity of a Jina or Tirthankara (in painting or

in sculpture) is normally indicated by a motif

immediately below the Jina (usually an animal).

• In fig 1 there is a faint outline of a bull implying

the Jina is Risabha

• A fruit lies on their hands and there is a „tilak‟ on

their forehead – features belonging to the

iconography of the Jina

• The human figures surrounding the jina (fig 1) are

heavenly dancers and musicians

• There are two0 curved green stalks surrounding

the head – a prominent and an old feature

[fig1] Seated Tirthankara

•The symbol below the Jina is a lion – thus the Jina is

Mahavira

•Below the Jina is a crescent – symbolic of the place of

nirvana or salvation

•Miniatures portraying the emancipated Jina in this way

are not rare.

•The Jinas are naked and richly decorated

•The basic colour combination is white/gold in a red

background

[fig 2 ]

Emancipated

Jina

Page 5: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

[fig 3]

mother of

jina : the

fourteen

dreams

• Upper half of the miniature is occupied by the 14

lucky dreams the Jinas mother sees – which are

later interpreted by the sooth sayers

• The bed and the dresses are prominent features

• The jewellery and the services provided under the

bed (spittoon betel leaves) show the royalty

[fig4] new

born Jina

with

mother

• The dresses, the jewellery and the objects below the

bed are marks of royalty

• The child is represented besides the mother in a blue

background

Page 6: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

Fig.5.The

Samavasarana

• Fig.5 shows the „samavasarana‟, a mythological

structure which is connected with the lives of the 24

Jinas. (All the Jinas delivered their sermons in such a

construction. It is an open arena or amphitheatre. The

Jina is seated in the centre, and quadrupled in a way

so that he is seen from all four sides. )

• The listeners, human beings and gods, is seated in the

central area.

• The Jina shown is Parshva- recognized by his seven

snake hoods.

• The samavasarana surrounded by animals - shown

in pairs of one a beast of prey, the other its prey. All

beings are thus shown as living harmoniously

together under the peaceful influence of the sermon

of the Jina.

Fig.6.

The four

Sooth-

Sayers

• Fig 6 shows the four sooth-sayers who interprete

the dreams of the royal mother of the Jina .

• All four figures display the scarf wound around

the waist, the two ends standing out from the body.

• The artist has introduced variety :

• different colours of the hair,

• of the beards,

• of the dhoti.

• decorative efforts (border etc.)

Page 7: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

Fig.9. Layman

in worshipping

posture

• Figs.7-8 portray two worshippers, a bearded

layman and a laywoman, both seated with their

legs crossed.

• Their hands are placed together, performing an act

of worship.

• The cloth between their hands is evidently an

object linked with worshipping

• A small boy is represented behind the male figure

and a basket behind the female figure.

• The two stand out clearly against the red

background.

• The „Dedh Chasma‟ style of painting is evident

from the profiles of the three figures

• It is dated 1241 A.D. and written on palm-leaves.

• It is thus much older than the manuscripts of the

six preceding figures as they were done on paper

(paper was introduced round about 1500 A.D.)

• Before the introduction of paper, all manuscripts

were written on palm-leaves – these were

extremely long

Fig.10.

Laywoman in

worshipping

posture

Page 8: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

• The 23rd jina, Nemi was the only jina who wasn‟t

married

• According to legend, when Nemi was advancing to

the home of his prospective wife, he saw a large

number of game kept in an enclosure and waiting

to be slaughtered. Nemi was shocked, forsook the

idea of marriage and renounced the world. His

intended, Rajimati, was sad beyond measure when

she heard of Nemi's decision. She thereupon

adopted the same course

• In Fig 9 Nemi (his colour being blue) is shown on

a chariot with the charioteer before him advancing

to the house of his prospective bride.

• The animals are shown in a circular enclosure

• The marriage pictogram consists of two rows of

superimposed pots, forming two posts which are

held together by a green garland at the top

• The way the horses, the charioteer and Nemi have

been shown depict certain velocity in which they

are moving

Fig.9 Preparations for Nemi's marriage

Page 9: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

• Fig 10-11 are parts of a cloth painting which

measures 30 feet by 12 inches. It includes seven

separate paintings.

• The original painting is basically a narrative

sequence, describing a pilgrimage to a Jain temple

on a hill

• The Jinas depicted in the „sections‟ in fig 10 are

portrayed in different colours- one being Parshvas

(colour: blue), the others cannot be identified

Parshva is always depicted with seven snake-hoods

above his head.

• The round ramparts in both "sections" are

reminiscent of the samavasarana concept.

• Upper panel in Fig.10 show pious Jain laymen

ascending a hill.

• The lower panel displays two Jina shrines in a

round rampart .To the right follows a cart with the

bullocks unyoked..

• In Fig.11 there is a Jina shrine in a round rampart,

• A monk is shown instructing another monk and a

group of followers (third line).

• Two carts with unyoked bullocks can be seen with

one of the carts carrying a Jina image representing

a procession car (first and second line).

• Two Jina shrines can also be seen(first line).

Fig 10 Painting on cloth. “Section” depicting a pilgrimage

Fig 11. Another “Section” of painting on cloth

Page 10: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

Fig 13

• Fig12-13 reveals strong Mughal influence

paintings :(turbans and „jamaz‟).

• A blend of Mughal and traditional Western Indian

Jain elements appeared in illustrated manuscripts

in the seventeenth century.

• Fig 12 shows a blue-skinned Krishna sitting on a

throne with an attendant behind

• to the right are Krishna‟s „emblems‟: the discus-l,

bow sword, gem, club, garland and conch.

• In this blend, Jain figures lost their „protruding

eye‟ and became dressed in the Mughal fashion, as

can be seen in fig 13 Fig 12 Miniatures from „Sangrahani‟ Sutra

Page 11: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

Fig 14 A leaf from Jain Kalapasutra

• In fig 14 the manuscript reads: “when Rsabha was

chosen by the people as their first king, the god

Shakra fashioned a gold dais and throne for him,

brought holy waters, and dressed him in royal

garments. Twins living in a lake nearby brought

water to anoint him but, overwhelmed by his

magnificence, only dared throw it on his feet”

• There are circular discs behind the heads of the

two main characters – depicting their godly status

• Also present are the hanging umbrellas over their

heads

• In this gold has been used on paper

Fig 15 two roundels of a creeper

• The fig.15 shows a decorative tala patra painting in

which within the roundels of a running creeper we

see a pair of birds (geese) and a giraffe.

• A giraffe is also depicted on a slab attached to the

plinth of the sun-temple at Konarka (Orissa)

• It has been observed that political relations and trade

relations might have brought rare and exotic animals

to interested and wealthy individuals

Page 12: Jain Miniatures

Jain Miniature Paintings

• Fig 16 shows one of the other earliest surviving

examples of illustrated manuscripts is Savaga-

padikkamana sutra.

• It is a palm leaf manuscript from the Mewar

region.

• The manuscript shows illustrations or miniature

paintings of Jina Parsvanatha,

• the Jina is shown instructing a disciple and

goddesses who are recognized as Saraswati and

Ambika.

• In total, the set consists of six illustrations that are

executed on square panel spaces left between the

lines of writing.

fig 16 Panel from a Jain manuscript