Tanjore, or as authentically known as Thanjavur paintings, are classical South Indian paintings that originated in the town of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The paintings are made with resources and inspiration from way back in the 1600 AD.
Tanjore paintings are easy to recognise. You can see the use of vivid colours and rich colours, simple yet iconic composition, and glittering gold foils on delicate gesso work and semi-precious pieces of gems or stones and the work of glass beads.
Thanjavur paintings were made in various sizes depending on the function, the subject and the choice of the patron. Large paintings of deities and the Maratha rulers were painted and installed to serve as architectural accents in the Maratha palaces.
Paintings, in addition to being done on canvas, were also done on walls, wooden panels, glass, paper, mica and exotic media such as ivory. Small Ivory portraits were typically worn as cameo pendants called raja haram and were quite popular.
In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable and mineral dyes, whereas contemporary artists used chemical paints. For outlines, dark brown or red was usually used. Red was favoured for the background, though blue and green were also used.
Artists have taken this old form of art and, over the years, combined it with other styles to create mixed media art. For example, Tanjore is also done on mirrors, glass and canvas. The idea of applying gold foil is unique to this traditional art.
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