Bal Krishna with Maa Yashoda | Traditional Colors with 24K Gold

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Framed in a fine wooden frame, the Tanjore artwork shows Maa Yashoda in the center, surrounded by four women, probably her helpers. She is clad in a saree that has been covered in gold following the tradition of original Tanjore paintings by the artist. The ladies around her are shorter in height than her, an artistic device used to highlight her primacy in the painting.

Adorned with traditional South Indian jewelry that is decorated further with tiny red and green gems to highlight its beauty, Maa Yashoda is placed on a sturdy, wide platform. Her hand has a ball of butter which she offers dotingly to the Bal Krishna (baby Krishna), exquisitely dressed up in all sorts of bejeweled ornaments that outline the heavenly aura of Yashoda- Nandana- the child of Yashoda.

Bal Krishna with Maa Yashoda is one of the most well-perfected images in the Tanjore tradition, a fact that is visible in the faultless artistic definition of the mother-child duo in this marvelous painting. The ladies carry beautiful and interesting objects- a peacock, a lotus flower, and a parrot, things they might have brought as gifts, for amusing the newborn baby.

With the apple of their eyes and the sole center of everyone’s loving attention, Maa Yashoda is the archetypical proud mother, overwhelmed by the joy of holding her child close to her heart. On the floor of this Tanjore art, we see two diminutive child figures, one with a deer, caressing it, and the other with a cow. They are Krishna himself, shown indulged in benevolent Lilas. The scene is set inside a palace, as noted by the gorgeous red and green drapery in the background, a typical element in Tanjore paintings. 

Gilded Elegance: Unraveling the Artistry of Tanjore Paintings

Tanjore painting is a traditional form of art in the South Indian style and was started by the inhabitants of a small town known as Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu. This gives it another name called “Thanjavur painting”. This painting draws its figures, designs, and inspiration from the time when Vedic culture was prevalent in India. Certain remarkable features of a Tanjore painting distinguish it from other paintings. Some of these are pure gold or gold foil coating on gesso work, the use of rich and vivid colors, and the inlay of cut-glass or semi-precious and precious stones. The subjects of most of the Tanjore paintings are Hindu Gods, Goddesses, and saints. The main devotional figure is portrayed in the central portion of the painting and is usually surrounded by various secondary figures.

The process of making a Tanjore painting

The classic Tanjore paintings are done on wooden planks and hence are also referred to as Palagai Padam in South India (Palagai = Wooden plank, Padam = Picture). Creating a masterpiece is never an easy task but the skilled artists of Thanjavur have been following the tradition of making timeless Tanjore paintings for decades.

The making process begins with preparing the wooden board or canvas. The size of the board depends upon the choice of the patron. The next step is to paste cardboard over the wooden board and then a cotton fabric is stretched and pasted upon it using Arabic gum.

Now that the cloth is attached to the wooden panel, a rough sketch of the motifs and figure is drawn onto the fabric. After this, a paste of chalk powder and water-soluble adhesive is evenly applied over the base and smoothed.

Thereafter, the outlines which were made or traced using a stencil are now ready to be beautified and decked with various add-ons. The usual materials for decoration are cut-glass, pearls, semi-precious and precious gems, gold leaf, and laces. 22 or 18 Karat Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are especially inlaid in areas like pillars, arches, walls, thrones, and dresses. In the final step, the rest of the painting is filled with rich and striking colors such as shades of red, blue, and green. Formerly, the artists used natural colors like vegetable and mineral dyes instead of chemical paints. The entire painting is then cleaned and refined to give a flawless finished look.

Since the making of a single piece of Tanjore painting requires a complex and elaborate process, the artists usually take at least one or two months to complete it. The use of pure gold foil and gems for beautification is a characteristic of an authentic Tanjore painting. Due to this, Tanjore paintings last for generations without getting tarnished and are much more expensive than general paintings. Though the art form has undergone various changes and technique modifications over the years, it continues to attract the hearts of art lovers.