01 August,2017 11:32 AM IST | Mumbai | Krutika Behrawala
An exhibition sheds light on the iconographic representations of the Hindu god through pichwais, textiles and vintage advertisements
A print advertisement from 1939
A little away from streets lined with stalls offering masala milk, kulhad chai and crisp kand (yam) chaat in Nathdwara, a temple town in Rajasthan, is a bylane known as Chitrakaron Ki Gully (artists' street). Here, you'll find a community of artists, many of them fifth-generation craftsmen, engrossed in painting scenes from Lord Krishna's everyday life - playing raasleela with gopis or a flute in lush, green fields amidst cows - on cloth.
A contemporary wood carving from Mysore
Known as pichwais, these works of art were initially developed as decorative backdrops for the Shrinathji idol in Nathdwara. "Over time, they've evolved into an art form, traditionally created using mineral colour, in a technique borrowed from various miniature painting styles," says Radhi Parekh, director, ARTISANS'. Brought up in a Vaishnav home where the pichwai was omnipresent, she has sourced them directly from Nathdwara artists. She has also sourced their prints on paper, from across the country. These pichwais will be showcased at Visions of Krishna, a precursor exhibition to Janmashtami, which celebrates Krishna's iconographic representations across vintage collectibles.
Mid-20th century embroidery on textile from Saurashtra
"Every Janmashtami, we celebrate the art and craft created as worship that evoke the inner 'rasik'. This year, we look at four traditional forms - the pichwais, chromolithographs by Raja Ravi Varma and his successors; embroideries from Gujarat; and sculpture sourced from Mysore," says Parekh.
A contemporary mineral colour on cloth pichwai by Shyam Sharma from Nathdwara
The chromolithographs in the show are from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. "Popular images of Lord Krishna by Vasudeo Pandya, RG Chonker, Khubi Ram and JP Singhal were predominantly used for commercial advertising that pervaded every home with a uniquely Indian kitsch aesthetic. It is important to views these works, particularly the pichwais and chromolithographs, from the twin perspectives of anthropology and art history," she adds.
