About Tanjore Painting
History
Tanjore Painting is a traditional form of "craft-art" that originated in the southern part of India. Tanjore painting (also called Thanjavoor painting) derived its name from the capital city of the ancient Chola empire in southern India, Thanjavoor (part of modern day state of Tamil Nadu in India). A combination of art and craft techniques, this painting style was developed with the patronage of Maratha rulers of Tanjore in the 18th century and mainly used to depict Hindu gods and goddesses along with scenes from mythology. It has now evolved to capture a broader range of subjects on canvas, including other vignettes from ancient and medieval times.
AC Tanjore Arts was founded in 2010, originally in Atlanta, GA and subsequently, is now based in New Jersey
Technique
Mastering this art form requires a lot of dedication and skilled labour. Many stages are involved in completing a painting. Traditionally, the backboard is a plank of teak wood, which is first polished with fine emery paper. A layer of cloth is pasted over this to provide the canvas. The artist then draws a detailed sketch on the canvas. After the sketching is completed, semi-precious stones are used to decorate the painting (In olden days, diamonds, rubies and other precious stones were used to embellish the painting). After this, a paste made of French chalk powder and Arabic gum is applied in ornamental form to provide a 3-dimensional relief effect for areas like pillars, arches, thrones, jewelry and dresses. The embossed areas are adorned with trimmed gold foil. The artist used natural color dyes like vegetable dyes to complete the painting.
AC Tanjore Arts uses a mix of crafting and painting techniques that are rooted in the ancient tradition, ensuring pure 22-Karat gold foil, while bringing a touch of modernity to the artist perspective.