LESSON - 4

D06124 Paintings and their details

This lesson is about ancient paintings of South and North
India. It also talks about the techniques employed and the
materials used for painting. We can also learn about the
history of paintings in our country. The basis for the word
"Ovium" is the word "Ovam". In Sangam literature, the
word Ovam was used to describe paintings. Later the word
Ovium was replaced by "chithiram". The ancient paintings
on stones depicted the day-to- day incidents in the life of
people during the ancient period. The paintings at Ajantha,
Chithannavacal, Thanjavur and Armamalai explain the skill
and workmanship of the painters of India.

In Tamil literature there are references to the materials
used for drawing. In ancient Tamil Literature, the drawing
board was known as "Vattikaippalakai" and the brush was
known as "Thukalikai". The brush used during the ancient
period was either made of copper and feathers or a thin
bamboo stick. In order to paint, the hair of animals were
attached to the edge of the brushes. They were usually
hair from the tails of the squirrels / or the hair from the
ear and stomach of the calves. Based on the size of the
hair, these brushes were classified as large, medium and
small.

Paintings from ancient Tamil Nadu can be found in
Kanjipuram, Chithannavacal and Thanjavur. The paintings
here are wall paintings. We find paintings in the famous
Brahadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur also. The paintings
during the Chola period are artistic and methods followed
were very advanced. These paintings were painted on
white mortar.

From this lesson we have learnt about the different
types of paintings found in ancient Tamil Nadu and also
about the painting board and different types of brushes.

முன்