You are on page 1of 12

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)

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

Jain Miniature Paintings


• The identity of a Jina or Tirthankara (in painting or
in sculpture) is normally indicated by a motif [fig 2 ]
immediately below the Jina (usually an animal). Emancipated
• In fig 1 there is a faint outline of a bull implying Jina
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 •The symbol below the Jina is a lion – thus the Jina is
Tirthankara 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

Jain Miniature Paintings


[fig4] new
born Jina
• Upper half of the miniature is occupied by the 14
with
lucky dreams the Jinas mother sees – which are
mother
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

[fig 3]
mother of
jina : the
fourteen
dreams

• 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

Jain Miniature Paintings


• Fig.5 shows the „samavasarana‟, a mythological
structure which is connected with the lives of the 24 Fig.6.
Jinas. (All the Jinas delivered their sermons in such a The four
construction. It is an open arena or amphitheatre. The Sooth-
Jina is seated in the centre, and quadrupled in a way Sayers
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 shows the four sooth-sayers who interprete
the dreams of the royal mother of the Jina .
Fig.5.The
Samavasarana • 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.)

Jain Miniature Paintings


• 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 Fig.9. Layman
object linked with worshipping in worshipping
• A small boy is represented behind the male figure posture
and a basket behind the female figure.
• The two stand out clearly against the red
background.
Fig.10.
• The „Dedh Chasma‟ style of painting is evident Laywoman in
from the profiles of the three figures worshipping
• It is dated 1241 A.D. and written on palm-leaves. posture
• 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

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
Fig.9 Preparations for Nemi's marriage
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

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 Fig 10 Painting on cloth. “Section” depicting a pilgrimage
reminiscent of the samavasarana concept.
• Upper panel in Fig.10 show pious Jain laymen
ascending a hill.
Fig 11. Another “Section” of painting on cloth
• 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).
Jain Miniature Paintings
• 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

Fig 13

Jain Miniature Paintings


• 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
Fig 14 A leaf from Jain Kalapasutra to interested and wealthy individuals

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

Jain Miniature Paintings

You might also like