You can’t
escape without having esteem towards Kerala mural art. There was a time when
this art was meant exclusively for sacred walls and royal palaces. You will
certainly be mesmerized by earthly walls where deities transfix silence.
Archaeologically, Kerala stands second (Rajasthan being the first one) in
containing biggest collection of vital mural sites. The frescos that illustrate
legends and mythology are Kerala mural paintings. They adorn the churches’ and
temple walls of South India, mainly in Kerala. Ancient churches, temples and
palaces of Kerala showcase the traditional affluence of these mural paintings.
They were fashioned with vegetable colors and natural pigments. Scrolling down
will bring you more info about these mural paintings.
Origin and
Development
The colors
that rule the Kerala mural paintings include ochre-yellow, bluish-green,
ochre-red, pure-green and white. Sources to prepare these colors are natural
like chemical and minerals derived from stones, earth, roots etc. and
vegetables. For instance, black is prepared from oil-lamps’ soot, yellow from
arsenic sulphide (realgar), red from red lead, vermilion and lac, green from
Eravikkara (a local mineral), lime is the source for white color and blue is
drawn from plants such as Indigo ferra. Colors are mixed only in wooden
containers. Binding media is drawn from Neem tree extracts and coconut water.
Specific grass type and trees’ roots were used for brush-making. Sharpened
pieces of bamboo work to draw the murals’ silhouette.
Style
Kerala
murals are distinctively celebrated for emphasized exquisiteness, symmetry and
lucidity. Great stylization is visible in human figures. Birds and animals are
depicted in natural poses. Elaborate costumes, gestures and facial expressions
are stylized and theatrical elements (Kath kali and koodiyattam) mark their
source. Typical characteristics of mural artworks include round and wide-open
eyes, exaggerated eyebrows, elongated colored lips, dramatic body poses and
over embellishment.
Kerala
murals’ are unmatched in terms of linear accuracy. Their styles can be traced
back to prehistoric Dravidian art- Kalamezhuthu. A better developed art form,
this included filling up and sprinkling various color powders in sketched
outlines made with powder. It is likely that initial Kerala murals with their
architecture were immensely under Pallava art influence.
Contemporary
Murals and Muralists
A new genre
of artists is actively partaking in the process of reviving the mural art in
its traditional flavor. They are dedicated to research and teaching of mural
art in Kalady at the Sree Sankara Sanskrit College. Also, their efforts are in
full fervor at a mural art school which is connected to the Guruvayoor temple.
Contemporary
ones and artists who came up during later years refer to Silparatna- a Sanskrit
text of 16th C which describes painting and associated subjects. Sri Kumara is
the author of this work. The dissertation has enjoyed acclamation of being an
uncommon work on Indian art techniques. Such work never came up either before or
after this one. Eminent names among today’s Kerala muralists are Suresh
Muthukulam and Chitra Ramanathan. Both are highly celebrated for their works of
this art.
Masterpieces
Kerala mural
art masterpieces include the the Ramayana murals of Vadakkumnatha kshetram and
Mattancherry Palace, Padmanabha temple sanctum’s mural works of
Thiruvananthapuram and the Shiva Temple at Ettumanoor. In case of church
frescos, more attention is paid to realistic depiction of human anatomy,
whether more or less. The churches of Akapparambu, Ankamali and Cheppad hold
great significance for old wall-paintings they have. A number of mural
paintings’ classics have not passed the test of time. Only outlines in sketchy
form remain today.
Art and
culture of the state can be understood by scrutinizing Kerala mural paintings
closely. The creativity included the best from varied aesthetic and cultural
influences to which it was open. Still, it has managed to retain as well as
maintain its individuality. Overall, Kerala mural paintings are instrumental
for distinguishing school of painting for which pictorial form’s masters have
worked to develop it. They can create conflict vitalities with grandeur again
as well as the fury and grace of gods and goddesses respectively, delight of
love, pain of separation and the ecstasy of reunion that is embedded in wall
painting tradition of India.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें