Child Kannan painting

       
                                                                Child Kannan painting
                                                                 चाइल्ड कन्नन पेंटिंग 

Ancient Artists at Thanjore

                  Tanjore paintings were painted by 'Moochys or Artists of India' according to the British chronicler Charles Gold in his bookOriental Drawings published in 1806. Traditionally, it is well known that the Raju community of Tanjore and Tiruchi, also called as Jinigara or Chitragara and the Nayudu community of Madurai were the artists who executed paintings in the Tanjore style.

                  The artists (Rajus & Naidus) were originally Telugu speaking people from the artistically vibrant "Rayalseema" region of Andhra, and moved to Tamil Nadu in the wake of the fall of the Vijayanagar empire and the Nayak rule in Madurai & Tanjore     

                                                                                                 The art was a sacred task to be performed with ritual purity and humility by the master craftsmen, many of whom chose to remain anonymous and never signed their paintings, true to the Indian artistic tradition. However a few works signed by artists are also known. C. Kondiah Raju, the famous calendar artist from Kovilpatti, was one of the illustrious descendants to make a name as an artist during modern times from the Raju community.