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Tanjore painting

  தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம்; Thanjavur Oviyam is a classical South Indian painting style, which was inaugurated from the town of Thanjavur(anglicized as Tanjore) and spread across the adjoining and geographically contiguous Tamil country.

                      The art form draws its immediate sources and inspiration from way back about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur under the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara Rayas encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil and painting of chiefly Hindu religious subjects in temples. However, Tanjore painting, as we know it now, originated in the Maratha court of Thanjavur (1676 - 1855).

                     Tanjore paintings are characterised by rich, flat and vivid colors, simple iconic composition, glittering gold foils overlaid on delicate but extensive gesso work and inlay of glass beads and pieces or very rarely precious and semi-precious gems. In Thanjavur paintings one can see the influence of Deccani, Vijayanagar, Maratha and even European styles of painting.

                     Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu puranas and religious texts were visualised, drawn and painted with the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture (mostly within an architecturally delineated space such as a mantapa) surrounded by several subsidiary figures, themes and subjects. There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects were depicted in Tanjore paintings.