The Evolution of Indian Art: From Thanjavur Paintings to Contemporary VR Experiences
- Sutithi Ghosh
- Aug 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 19
Though Indian art forms are vast and diverse, unity thrives in its many pockets, with each piece whispering a legacy through unique techniques and local charm.
No wonder, Indian art has been a vast canvas of thriving regional art forms and brilliant court paintings, where royal grandeur was portrayed with intricacy and finesse. Lavish court paintings dealt with larger-than-life portrayals of emperors, queens, and courtiers. When we look back in retrospect, we sense the endless aura of those elegant works forever etched in our collective memory as Mughal miniature paintings.
With the changing times, many of these heritage styles are facing the risk of fading into oblivion. That is where innovation and modernization chip in, not to replace the traditional old forms, but to preserve and reimagine them for the Gen-X art lovers, artists, enthusiasts, and collectors.
The new trend tries to place fascinating historic art forms like Thanjavur paintings alongside modern preservation techniques such as Aipan VR—a virtual reality tour of a traditional art of the state of Uttarakhand, in the quest of keeping the artistic tradition alive. Thus, the landscape of traditional Indian art is adapting to innovations to show that legacies and technology can coexist beautifully, without any interference.
Indian Court Paintings and the Artistic Lineage
Indian court paintings aesthetically recorded the politics and culture of royal courts, as a trend that gained pace during the Mughal period. These paintings mostly depicted stories of the court, regal portraits of kings and queens, hunting scenes, battles, and celebrations. Mughal emperors patronized the painters and artisans who crafted something intricate like miniature paintings, blending Persian finesse with Indian themes.
Apart from Mughal court portrayals, there were vibrant Rajput court paintings, rich in symbolism, often featuring epic scenes from Ramayan and Mahabharata. Other forms include embellished court drawings of Deccan courts, where a confluence of Turkish, Persian, and local styles is evident. In every regional painting, the ruler’s taste and preferences merged with regional flavours. The regal court paintings not only captured the grandeur of the courts, it echoed the poise and poetry, music, and moods of the time.
Regional Art Forms Gaining Global Attention: Thanjavur Painting
This ancient art of Tanjore paintings or Thanjavur paintings has its roots in the town of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. During the reign of the Chola kings, this form flourished, later to be influenced by other artistic traditions such as the Mughal miniatures or the Vijayanagar school of art. It also explains the cultural exchange between India and the colonial British masters, incorporating European designs in its style. It is difficult to ignore the unmatched glow and the inimitable grandeur of the paintings that mostly depict Indian deities, avatars, and religious characters.
Various galleries showcase some of these famous Indian artists' paintings to offer a connection with our past heritage. People get to know of the timeless beauties and traditions through these grand exhibitions.
These days the art form has evolved incorporating more commonplace objects and modern themes, though the artistic legacy and style of Tanjore art is kept alive for generations. The tradition has been passed down for generations of artisans, often within the families or communities engaged in this form.
A unique technique of ‘gesso work’ is used in these paintings to paste the gold foils in thin sheets. Instead of traditional canvases, wooden boards are preferred to apply the paints. The paintings are a typical mixture of sawdust, limestone paste, and tamarind seed, which is applied on the board already coated with chalk powder and gum. Outlines are meticulously drawn before they are adorned with detailed work of precious and semi-precious stones, pearls, and gold foils.
As the tides of change sweep across the artistic landscape of India and commercial markets shift towards mass-produced handicraft items, this intricate, labour-intensive art form seeks more exposure and attention. Here comes the need for digitized curation with technology and heritage holding hands to preserve the age-old legacies—just as VR techniques are being used for Aipan, an art form of Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand’s Sacred Folk Tradition of Aipan
If we shift our focus from South to North India, we can witness another beautiful handwork from Uttarakhand, Aipan art. These extraordinary and sacred patterns are mostly done by women artisans of the Kumaon region, made with rice flour. The patterns look stunning on the stark red ochre background.
The motifs or the designs are inspired by natural patterns, often geometric in shape. Most intriguing is that they not only look decorative, they have deep cultural and religious meanings, used during rituals and festivals like weddings, bringing prosperity to the home and hearth, or warding off evil. These Aipan patterns honour the deities and work as spiritual offerings on the auspicious occasions.
As we have already talked about the survival challenges of Thanjavur paintings, Aipan art has been facing issues of occupational mobility, rapid urbanization and shifting lifestyles of the artisans.
A Digital Preservation ‘Aipan VR’ – Guarding Legacies in the Digital Age
It's been a fantastic attempt to showcase the heritage and the stories behind the sacred art form of Uttarakhand in the virtual reality project – Aipan VR. With the rise of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, artists can create immersive experiences for the viewers across the world. Some Indian artists like Shilpa Gupta pioneered this movement to explore the intersections of memory and identity in a vast global space.
Think of it as a unique blend of heritage and technology to promote and preserve the traditional art forms like Aipan. 3D models are used to create an immersive experience so that people can visualize the art in its authentic place, such as a home or temple in Kumaon.
Viewers are guided through virtual walk-throughs to watch how the designs are made physically, and can even try drawing with the use of VR tools. It’s more than just digital curation; it’s about creating a connection with the Gen-X viewers who may have never known that such an art form ever existed!
Why Preservation of Art Matters — Bridging Past and Future
When we discuss Aipan VR alongside the rich heritage of miniature paintings or regional styles like Thanjavur paintings, we don’t try to measure their merits or compare them, we try to show the spectrum of Indian art that needs to be preserved for future generations.
Thanjavur painting strives to keep its age-old legacy, slowly infiltrating the markets through online sales, gallery exhibitions, and workshops.
Aipan VR plays its part of a saviour, using state-of-the-art technology to share an art form that might otherwise disappear, while offering digital walkthroughs for contemporary viewers.
Both of them represent their own ways of cultural preservation, where one remains mostly rooted to its tradition, another welcomes innovation to guard its legacy and cultural heritage. Ensuring a seamless flow through past and present is necessary for any preservation activity.
What Happens Without Preserving Indian Artistic Heritage?
Indian art forms are more than just visual excellence; here, stories are shared through brushstrokes and motifs, representing religious and cultural beliefs and identities. We can’t let this shared heritage be wiped out with time, so the need for preservation comes to the fore.
What preservation matters –
1. To let cultural identities thrive — Through art, various communities define their identities.
2. To let artisans earn through crafts — There are artisans who depend on these arts and crafts as their primary source of income.
3. To let art teach values — Through traditional art, we connect with history, symbolism, and craftsmanship.
4. To let more global windows open — Unique art and crafts turn the global gaze towards India in a highly digitized world.
Limitations to Preserving Traditional Art: Help at Hand
There are several factors that challenge the preservation moves, like market demand for cheap, mechanized handicrafts, lack of awareness and generational gap, oral tradition followed through ages, and lack of infrastructure to access the latest technology. So, while even projects like Aipan VR or the enduring legacy of Thanjavur paintings look encouraging, we need some collective efforts to keep the ball rolling.
The Road Ahead from Court Painting to Virtual Realities
Indian art has come a long way from the court paintings era to the VR universe. It’s good that our art forms were not trapped in the cobwebs of the past, but evolved with time. While paintings like Thanjavur or miniature art showcase the traditional values, VR experts show that historical and cultural heritage can be preserved through technology.
Tradition and technology are no rivals—together they tell the stories of Indian myths and legends. The aim is to educate future generations about the splendour of traditional Indian art without stripping its authenticity.
Evolution of Indian Art: Collective Efforts to Carry Ancient Legacies into a Glorious Future
While efforts are underway to bridge the past and embrace the future, we can only hope that our rich and opulent art will continue to inspire and connect people across time and space. Some collective efforts, such as
buying authentic works from deserving artists,
circulating art stories through social media channels,
supporting curation projects like Aipan VR
can help fit traditional works into the ever-evolving digitized frame.
#Visit TERAVARNA India, the contemporary art platform where stories of ancient Indian art forms and modern innovations in expression coexist on the same plane.
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