Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c13: Appendix. The Indian Process of Fresco Buono
Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c13
- Language
- English
Contents
- c13.s1 The Preparation of the Lime for the Ground — 1 part
- c13.s2 The Laying of the Plaster Ground — 1 part
- c13.s3 The Preparation of Lime for Fresco Ground — 1 part
- c13.s4 The Laying of the Fresco Ground — 2 parts
- c13.s5 The Painting — 1 part
- c13.s6 Colours Used in Jaipur for Real Fresco — 2 parts
- c13.s7 The Ajanta and Sîgiri Frescoes — 2 parts
- c13.s8 Notes on Indian Painting Processes, Supplied by Mr. Ishwary Prasad, Teacher in the Calcutta School of Art — 2 parts
Appendix. The Indian Process of Fresco Buono
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THE Indian process of fresco painting as still practised in Rajputana, the Punjab, and the United Provinces, has been lately revived in Bengal by the Calcutta School of Art. Modern fashions and modern bad taste have generally substituted insanitary European wall-papers for this most beautiful and permanent form of Indian mural decoration.
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The chief difference between it and the Italian process of *fresco buono* is that the colours are united to the plaster ground by mechanical action (beating with trowel and polishing) as well as chemically, by the action of the lime. The Indian fresco is given a highly polished surface, which in the dust-laden atmosphere of India is a great advantage, as it prevents accumulations of dirt, and enables the wall to be cleaned with a dry duster or by syringing it with water.
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For interior decoration the colours are absolutely permanent. The plaster is exceedingly durable, and, except when saltpetre (which eventually destroys any lime plaster) rises in the walls, it is not affected by a damp atmosphere. In the dry climate of Northern India it was often used for external decoration by the Moguls, and it is quite suitable for this on walls which are not fully exposed to the monsoon rains, or are protected by a verandah.
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Even when saltpetre rises in the walls, owing to the absence of an effective damp course, it is more durable than common plaster, and it can easily be repaired from time to time. But in this case an upper story, to which the saltpetre does not rise, is more suitable for pictures or for elaborate decorations. For native houses, where the inmates have not adopted the European habit of wearing boots, this plaster is strong enough to be used for floors; and formerly floors were sometimes painted in fresco, which, with its finely polished surface, possessed all the beauty of inlaid marble. The Jaipur lime, owing to its having a large percentage of alumina, makes an exceptionally strong and beautiful plaster.
The Preparation of the Lime for the Ground
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The lime must be perfectly slaked to prevent blisters appearing in the ground. It must remain under water for at least a week, though a much longer time is desirable. Then mix with the lime a quantity of powdered limestone, or fine clean sand, double in weight of the dry lime. Stir the mixture, and add water to make it the consistency of mud. Grind the mixture on an ordinary curry-stone. This plaster can be used on brick or rough stone walls. When a wooden ground is used mix the plaster with sugar, powdered *methi* (Trigonell—*fænum græcum*) and jute to prevent it from cracking.
The Laying of the Plaster Ground
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The stone or brick walls must be well wetted, and while wet the prepared plaster is thinly and evenly laid over it. Drive the plaster well into the joints and crevices and beat it all over with a long strip of wood used edgeways until it becomes slightly dry. Then wet the layer, and repeat the beating until the plaster is firm. Apply another thin coat of plaster, beating it well in the same way, until it becomes at least a quarter of an inch thick. Then level it carefully and let it dry completely. The operation lasts three or four days.
The Preparation of Lime for Fresco Ground
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The lime for the final coating on which the painting is done requires very careful preparation. It must be perfectly slaked, and for this purpose the lime is sometimes kept under water for months : a year is said to be desirable for the very best work. Then curds are mixed with the lime in the proportion of half a seer of curds to half a maund of dry lime. Stir the mixture well, and let it stand under water overnight. Next day drain off the water and strain through a piece of fine cloth. Let it stand again under water till next day, and continue this process for at least a week. The purity of the lime will depend upon the number of times this operation is repeated. Care must be taken that the lime thus prepared is always kept under water ; if allowed to dry it will be useless.
The Laying of the Fresco Ground
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Wet a portion of this plaster ground prepared as above, as much as can be painted and finished in a day. If the ground is too wet it will come off with the rubbing-stone ; if insufficiently the ground will dry too quickly and the colours will not be permanent. Then mix some of the plaster of the ground with the fine prepared fresco lime, adding water to make it the consistency of cream, and apply this mixture to the wet wall with a large brush ; rub it well over the ground with a flat stone so as to work it well into the surface. Give two or three coats, rubbing it with the stone every time. Then apply three or four coatings of the prepared fresco lime only, rubbing it as before with the stone. When it is a little dry and sticky polish it with an agate polishing-stone until the surface is quite smooth and glazed; the ground is then ready for painting. Considerable practice and dexterity are needed in this polishing process.
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The process for preparing the beautiful polished white walls which were formerly common in the best houses in Madras and Calcutta, was supposed to be a lost art until I pointed out that it was identical with that used for preparing walls for fresco painting. The walls in Government House, Calcutta, were lately renewed under Lord Curzon's orders by workmen imported from Jaipur for teaching fresco painting in the Calcutta School of Art.
The Painting
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The drawing, first carefully made on paper, is transferred to the prepared wall by the usual method of pricking and pouncing the outlines. The colours are mixed with water, ground fine, and strained through a cloth. Gum is added to all the colours except black, which requires glue. The painting must be finished in one day, while the ground is wet, as in the Italian process of *fresco buono*; but if necessary retouching can be done the following day, provided that the painting is kept wet by covering it with wet cloths. When the painting is finished, beat it all over very evenly with a small thick trowel until the surface is quite smooth. Then scrape the oily liquid from the inside of a cocoa-nut, and, after heating it, apply it to the surface of the painting and rub it gently with a dry, clean cloth. The painting must then be rubbed with a small agate polishing stone until it acquires a surface like polished marble. When the plaster is thoroughly dry the colours are quite permanent, and the painting can be cleaned from time to time by syringing it with water or dusting it with a dry duster.
Colours Used in Jaipur for Real Fresco
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| *Hindustani name.* | *English.* |
| Hazâ patthar. | Terra verte. |
| Pilâ patthar. | Yellow ochre. |
| Lâjward. | Ultramarine (lapis). |
| Hingûl. | Vermilion. |
| Sindûr. | Red lead. |
| Nil. | |
| Kajâl. | Lampblack. |
| Koelâ. | Ivory black. |
| Chûnâ. | Lime. |
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The following colours can also be used : Raw siena, burnt siena, raw umber, burnt umber, Naples yellow, Venetian red, green oxide of chromium, cobalt blue.
The Ajanta and Sîgiri Frescoes
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The ground on which the Ajanta paintings were executed appears to have been composed of pulverised trap, mixed with clay and cow-dung, laid on the roughish surface of the rocks to a depth varying from a quarter to half an inch. Sometimes rice-husks were added, especially on the ceilings. Over this ground was laid the *intonaco* of this smooth plaster, about the thickness of an egg-shell, upon which the painting was done (Mr. John Griffiths, “Ajanta,” vol. i. p. 18).
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At Sîgiri the ground was a thickness of about half an inch of tempered earth and kaolin of a reddish brown hue, strengthened with rice-husks and perhaps shreds of cocoa-nut fibre. Upon this were laid at least two coatings of white chûnâ (lime), a quarter to half an inch thick (Mr. H. C. P. Bell, "Journal R.A.S., Ceylon," vol. xv., p. 114).
Notes on Indian Painting Processes, Supplied by Mr. Ishwary Prasad, Teacher in the Calcutta School of Art
Paper for Miniature Paintings
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The papers used were of three kinds: (1) called *bavsâha*, made from crushed bamboo, (2) *tâtâhâ*, made from *tât*, or jute, (3) *tulât*, made from *tula*, or cotton.
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A smooth enamelled surface was given to the paper by placing it face downwards on a polished stone and rubbing the back of it with a polisher.
Tracing Paper (Charba)
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This was prepared from deer-skin. Drawings were transferred by pricking and pouncing with charcoal powder. For fine work the charcoal was made from the *arahar* plant (*Cajanus Indicus*); for ordinary work charcoal made from mango-tree twigs was used.
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*Brushes* were made from the hair of a squirrel's tail. Worn brushes were carefully kept for fine outline work. Dr. Coomaraswamy says that in Ceylon brushes for drawing fine lines are made of the awns of *teli tana* grass (*Aristida adscensionis*), and are admirably adapted to their purpose.
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The first outline was always made with Indian red (*gairika*—a red used by mendicants for colouring their cloths) used without gum. The finishing outlines were made with lampblack, prepared by burning a camphor wick in a mustard-oil lamp.
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*Mediums.*—The mediums used with the colours were water, gum, glue, sugar, and linseed water.
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*Gold.*—The best gold was known as Panna gold, obtained from the Panna State Gold Mines. The gold size was made by boiling fourteen ounces' weight of gum and two ounces' weight of sugar in four ounces of water ; when cold it was ready for use.
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The following are the technical names of the principal processes of painting :
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*Âbina.*—Drawing a sketch of the picture with a brush dipped in water only ; the paper, when dry, has a water-line impression which serves as a guide for future work (*ab*—water, *bina*—to see).
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*Khâkâ* (form).—To give form to the water-line drawing with some mineral colour, Indian red being often used.
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*Rangamezi* (colouring).
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(*a*) *Dagina* (marking).—The different parts of the picture, such as the face, sky, trees, dresses, etc., are marked out with various colours.
(*b*) *Potna* (filling up).—The spaces thus marked out were filled up with colour-washes.
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*Golaî.*—Gradating and softening off the colours.
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*Sâyâ-susma* (shading).
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(*a*) *Sâyâ.*—Shading the different parts of the picture with darker tones. *Sâyâ* touches are only put on the face, hands, feet, folds of the dress, and accessories such as furniture ; never on the sky or on flat walls.
(*b*) *Susma.*—To use different colours in giving relief to an object.
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*Sia-kalam* (ink-brush).—Finishing the whole picture with ink-lines of varying thickness and strength.
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*Gula-pamba* (chrome yellow and Chinese white).—This was used instead of gold in painting jewellery, etc.
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*Sufâda*.—To paint bright spots in the picture, such as the white of the eye, pearls, and jewellery, with touches of white.
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*Jarab*.—In this process real pearls and precious stones were stuck on to the picture (see illustration, Plate LII.).
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Grounds for tempera painting on cloth, wood, and walls :
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*Cloth*.—For first-class work, boiled and liquefied *khoi* (parched paddy) mixed with gum 1/16th part. For ordinary work, rice starch mixed with linseed water ⅛th part, and gum 1/20th part.
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*Wood*.—Glue and sugar 1/16th part, a pinch of alum and a tablespoonful of shellac, boiled together.
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*Walls*.—Chalk and milk ½ part, milk curd ⅛th, sugar 1/16th, and a little yellow ochre.
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Dr. Waddell, in his "Lamaism in Tibet," p. 331, describes the method of preparing the ground for the sacred banners which are hung in Buddhist temples and monasteries :
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"The cloth used is canvas or cotton, seldom silk. It is prepared by stretching it while damp on a wooden frame to which a margin of cloth is stitched, and its surface is then smeared with a paste of lime and flour, to which a little glue is sometimes added. On drying the surface is rubbed smooth and slightly polished by a stone, and the drawing is then outlined either by hand or with a charcoal crayon. In the more technical subjects a stencil plate is used."