Indian Traditional Art form of Pichwai Paintings

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Folk Paintings of India, Pichwai Paintings Amongst the most magnificent forms of folk paintings of India are pichvai paintings. Also known as ‘pichwai’ or ‘pichvai’; this art form is one of the most ancient that has its origin in the land of culture ie India. Paichvai paintings have their roots in Nathdwara Rajasthan. This stunning art form is a 400-year-old art, which was majorly created to depict the beautiful life of Lord Krishna. The craze to own a pichvai painting has been on a rise. These art lovers looking to own pichvai paintings can now find pichvai paintings online .

The wall art is created by depicting the story of Shrinathji, another form of Lord Krishna holding the hill Govardhan. These folk paintings of India depict different stories of the life of Lord Krishna. The Govardhan parvat story of Lord Krishna contains a beautiful history that represents the power of one of the most significant incarnations of Lord Vishnu. When Lord Indra, showcased his control over the inhabitants of Vrindavan, with steady rains and thunderstorms; Lord Krishna lifted the hill named Govardhan on his little finger and the people of Vrindavan took refuge under the mountain. With this Indira realized failure to disturb the people and his ego was broken. Since then people are worshipping Govardhan hill.

The contemporary paintings are used to embellish the walls of the temples located in Nathdwara district, specializing as a backdrop for the temples of Shrinathji. The making of a traditional painting takes a considerable amount of time, ranging from a couple of weeks to months. Great artists first sketch this conventional art on hand-spun starched cloth, and then the beautiful image is created, painted and printed in brilliant colors or woven with hand blocks. The classic styles are generally made with natural colors and even natural brushes. The base is mostly red woven with yellow or any bright colored embroidery. The focus is mainly on using intense and bright colors such as red, yellow, green, black along with a border beautified with a goat, dabka work or Swarovski. The most beautiful ones are mainly filled with pure gold.

The most exciting part about these contemporary folk paintings of India is that they can be modified easily depending on the occasion. With a significant focus on large eyes, big nose and fat belly; the paintings symbolize different festivals of India. For example, one consisting of pink lotuses signify summers. On the contrary, winters are represented by jamawar patter. Raas Leela(dance form of Lord Krishna) is made on the festival of Holi and Annakut is made during the time of Govardhan puja. You can buy pichvai paintings online from trusted sources. The unique word pichvai comes from the Sanskrit words, ‘pitch’ meaning back and ‘wais’ meaning hanging. It, therefore, means traditional paintings are hanging behind the idol of Shrinathji.

The ‘not-so-famous’ art form is not only found in temples but also in homes and across the world. Some interesting facts about these paintings are: The dominant figure of Shrinathji is the most manifesting symbolization of seven-year-old Lord Krishna holding the huge Govardhan hill on his little finger for seven consecutive days in order to save the lives of the people of Vrindavan. This posture is typically depicted on almost every Pichvai painting with left hand raised and right hand on the waist.

A miniature form of art. The typical Radha Krishna paintings or the ones depicting ‘Raas Leela’ are made focusing on the little art. Every minute detail is full of intricacies and canonized with small studded diamonds. Once you scrutinize the figure, you will realize the countless effort of the artists in weaving different styles of embroidery.

A complete set of adornments. As the Holy city, Vrindavan is famous for the deity of Shrinathji with a

diamond-studded on His chin, and similar is the style of the painting with a beautiful, extravagant diamond studded not only on the button but also on ring ďŹ ngers. More and more use of adornments focuses on detailing the artists to add to the masterpiece.

Just the perfect creation is Pichvai paintings. There is no scope for any possible error in this kind of picture as the intricate designs are so minute that even the smallest mistake gets noticed easily. Hence artists create the paintings by sitting on the floor with a fixed posture and correct support to the hand.

True colors are the essence of this art form. The pathways are made with full natural colours and even the artiďŹ cial ones are of supreme class. The showdown is made with pure gold and other precious metals that are rich in value.

The motive behind the making of these paintings is the joy and happiness that spread over Vrindavan during the time of Lord Krishna. The artists are the devotees of Shrinathji who were happy to make these paintings. The pictures show love and happiness as symbolized by dancing to the tunes of the flute.

The best part about these paintings is they there are no rigid rules on hanging them on the wall. Besides adorning the backdrop of the walls of the temple, these paintings do not carry any religious beliefs. Over the years, artists have started making comparatively smaller versions of the pictures than the larger ones. And now these newly created versions can be bought by art lovers as home dĂŠcor or for an art museum. This beautiful journey from temples to homes shows the love of people for Indian art, history, and culture.

Pichwai was a forgotten art until it was noticed by the devotees of the Vallabhacharya sect for whom it has great importance. These came into prominence when the Sect Vallabhacharya created 24 iconic poses of Lord Krishna against the backdrop of Nathdwara (about one hour drive from Udaipur). Every Pichvai painting relates to a specific celebration of a festival.

Every art form of India has emerged from its history, independent of any connection except the ones that are another form of reincarnation of great Indian Gods. They focus on their lives and work. If an individual is a devoted artist who is looking to own a pichvai miniature then they can buy a choice of pichvai paintings online from a trusted portal