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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c20.s3.t3: Art Painting

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c20.s3.t3

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English

Art Painting

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According to mythological sources it is believed that the principle of art painting was produced in the days of yore by the great sage Nārāyaṇa for the benefit of the world when he created the celestial nymph Urvaśī. The great sage used mango juice to create the beautiful nymph by drawing with it her picture on his thigh. From this painting Urvaśī emerged as a lovely maiden. Thus the first picture of painting was created with mango juice as the colouring material. Through this beautiful picture the sage Nārāyaṇa imparted the principles of perfect portrayal through different colours to Viśvakarma (Vi. Pu, Citrasūtra, 35, 1-5).

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However, leaving aside the mythological episode, the origin of paints dates back to pre-historic times when the people of that early period recorded some of their activities in colours (generally red and black) on the walls of caves. These were only crude earths or clays suspended in water. By about the Vedic period, ancient Indians had a wide number and variety of colours for painting pictures.

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In pre-historic cave painting, *gairika* was used as a pigment and black colour was painted with burnt wood. During Indus valley civilization, white, red, black, yellow, green colours were used. Painting had developed well in Vedic period also even though no specimen is available. Buddhist literature also is replete with references to different types of painting in different colours (*Kus*, 531; *MV*.5.10.3; 8.29). Auditoriums were decorated with beautiful paintings on the wall (*Nāṭ*. 290-291).

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In the Ajaṇtā caves, the paintings in the 9th and 10th caves are said to be created in 1st or 2nd century B.C. Specimens of paintings of Gupta period can be seen in the other caves of Ajaṇtā, Badāmi Bāg, Chittannavāsal in Tamil Nad, and also in the temples of Kanci and Tanjore at South India. In Ajaṇtā paintings extracts of plants and minerals were made use of in preparing pigments. First, the wall of the caves were prepared with a special *lepa* or coating and then the outline of the figure to be painted was drawn with black lines. Ellora mural paintings and Tanjore paintings of the 11th century are very famous for the beautiful depiction of figures in attractive bright colours and tints.

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At Ajaṇtā, Bāg and other caves, the colours most freely used were white, red and brown in various tints, a dull green and also blue. For white colour, sulphate of lime was used. Red and brown tints were obtained from compound of iron. Blue colour was obtained by grinding calcined lapislazuli - a costly semiprecious mineral usually imported. For yellow, the ancient painters used orpiment, a natural arsenic sulphide. In fresco paintings the pigments should be capable of resisting the decomposing action of lime and hence extra attention had to be bestowed upon selection of proper pigments. The fresco paintings testify to the knowledge and skill of the painters in preparing permanent colours out of vegetable and mineral sources.

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In ancient and medieval period, as seen even today, the main doors and entrances of houses were decorated with the figures of Ṣaṣṭī Devatā, Nāga, auspicious motifs like *svastika*, lotus etc. These were done with a paste of *haridrā*. Doorsteps of Hindu homes were decorated with colourful designs drawn with coloured powders called *Raṅgoli*. Red ochre, chalk powder, charcoal, green powder of dried leaves of some plants, *haridrā*, *nīlī* etc. were used for drawing *Raṅgoli*.

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Varāhamihira has referred to the art of painting as *citrakarma* and painters were known as *citrakāra*, *citrajña*, *alekhajña*, etc (*Bṛh. S*. LVII.14; V.74; IX.30; X.10; XVI.12)

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It is declared that among all arts and skills, painting is the foremost. Just as Sumeru is the best among mountains so also painting is the foremost among all arts (*Vi Pu*. II.43.39). This suggests that ancient Indians knew the art of selecting colours and mixing them to achieve different shades. Vātsyāyana has summarised the principles of the art of painting of the 8th century A.D. under six categories amongst which *varṇikabhaṅga* or mixing of colours is one¹⁴.

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From these references it becomes clear that the art of painting was in a highly developed state even in ancient India and that people knew the technique of preparing pigments for painting beautiful pictures and also suitable vehicles or media for the pigments.

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Among the Purāṇas, Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa is valued as an authoritative work on the techniques of different aspects of the art of painting. To begin with, it gives a recipe for preparing a lepa or coating to smoothen the wall before painting a picture on it. It is said that three varieties of brickpowders should be mixed with a third proportion of it with clay. To this should be added fragrant gum-resin (guggula), bees wax (madhucchiṣṭam), honey (madhu), a type of grass (kuṇḍaraka), molasses (guḍam) and safflower (kusumbha) soaked in oil, in equal proportions. Powder of lime three-fourths burnt with bel fruit pulp and lampblack should be added. After adding one-fourth part of sand, the mixture should be soaked in water for a month to make it lubricous. With this paste a smooth and firm coat is applied on the wall (Vi Pu. III.40.1-10).

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White, yellow, red, black and blue, these are the five primary colours and these in different combinations in different proportions produce hundreds of intermediate tones¹⁵. This work gives formulae for different colour compositions also. Blue and yellow when mixed produce green colour. It may be pale with a greater medium of white or deeper with blue. There are three distinct shades of each colour by mixing white in less, equal or greater proportions. Green colour can be obtained by mixing yellow and blue. It may be retained as pure green or it may be made pale green by adding white. The green colour may be made deeper by aggravating blue. Thus, by enhancing or lessening of the colours mixed, many subtle varieties of any colour could be created. Beautiful tints are produced by mixing in calculated proportions different colours. As an example it is said that red lākṣā tint mixed with white like the lodhra flower becomes red like the lotus, a colour extremely charming. Some of the tints produced with one predominant tone are given like yellowish green of durva grass, light wood apple green, green like green pulse, blue like blue lily, and so on.

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The colours mentioned in Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa are of mineral and vegetable dyes like yellow orpiment (haritāla), lime (sudhā), lac (lākṣā), vermilion (hiṅgula), indigo (nīlī), lapislazuli (rājāvarta), red lead (sindura), lead (trapu), lampblack, mica, etc. and several more¹⁶.

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Colours can also be produced from metals in the form of very thin and fine sheets or a liquid. These metals are gold (kanaka), silver (rajata) and copper (tāmra). Metal colours are to be laid in delicately thin sheets or by liquefying them by chemical methods. Hide glue and bakula resin glue act to fix and strengthen the colour for which vermilion juice is also added. Juice of durva grass, bark resin, glue of elephant hides etc. fix and strengthen the colour of the pigments and these cannot be destroyed even when washed.

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Poets like Bāṇa and others have mentioned subtle shades of colours in their literary works. The colours mentioned are not just poetic fancy because works like Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa have suggested a myriad by clever combinations of colours in various proportions. Literary works in Sanskrit are replete with references to shades and tints produced by different combinations of colours. Yellow and blue make green while red and blue make purple. Peculiar white of haritāla śaila is different from swan white. Red is found in different tints like that of bandhuka flowers, kuṅkuma red, kusumbha rāga red, blood red like a bunch of ghātaki flowers, sindūra colour of mandāra flowers, mañjiṣṭha red, reddish like the morning sun and so on¹⁷. Likewise, different shades of other colours including black and white are mentioned or suggested in different contexts. All these imply that people in ancient India were highly colour conscious and were able to prepare different paints by combining two or three colour pigments.

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*Silparatna*, *Abhilaṣitārthacintāmaṇi* and *Śivatattva-ratnākara* also are some of the texts which deal with the art of painting, colours, mixing of colours, preparation of pigments etc. All these texts treat the subject more or less in a similar manner without much variation.

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A *citraka* or *citrakāra*, an artist should have perfect knowledge about different colours and know the use of proper colours in the paintings and he should take great care in mixing different colours.¹⁸

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It is said that fresh buffalo hide should be boiled with water. When sticky butter-like paste is formed, it should be made into small pieces and dried till the pieces become hard. This is called *vajralepa* or adamantine which is very useful for painting in two ways - to prepare the coating for the surface to make it smooth and flawless for painting pictures and to prepare the vehicle or media to mix the pigment for painting. Pigments of different colours have to get suspended sometimes with additives so that they could be used as paints. Hence it is said that the above mentioned pieces of *Vajralepa* should be placed in strong mud vessel filled with water and then heated. When they get melted they may be added to any colouring pigment proportionately to get a particular desired shade. Adding soft white sand and conch powder to this *vajralepa*, the wall or the surface should be smeared with this paste and allowed to dry three times till it becomes smooth and glossy. Then the moon-white mineral called *nāga* found in Nilagiri, embedded in rock should be mixed with this *vajralepa*. This mixture should be applied on the surface of the wall slowly and gently. The wall then becomes ready for painting beautiful pictures (*Siv. R.* VI.2.10-18).

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From the recipe of *vajralepa* given above we can gather that the technology of surface painting and wall painting in different colours was advanced and that people were efficient in selecting and preparing the proper vehicle also for the pigments. Conch powder and a special white mineral called *nāga* found on the Nilagiri were used for preparing white pigments.

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Different methods of preparing this *vajralepa* paste are given in different treatises (*Vi. Pu.* III.40; *Sam. Sū.* 72; *ŚR.* 46.131,132; *Bṛh S.* *Vajralepa* lakṣaṇādhyāya 1-3, 5-8.).

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Generally six primary colours are mentioned in the ancient texts. They are white, red, yellow, blue, green and black (*ŚR.* 64.27; *Vi. Pu.* III.27.8; *Śiv R.* VI. 2. 33, 34). *Sveta* (white), *śona* (red), *pīta* (yellow), *kṛṣṇa* (black), *nīla* (blue), *harita* (green). The use of conch powder is recommended for white colour.

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Three kinds of red colour are distinguished and they are *śona*, *rakta*, and *lohita*. *Darada* (red lead) is advised for reddish brown, *ālaktaka* (red sap) for blood red and *gairika* (red chalk) for dark red. *Haritāla* (yellow orpiment) is prescribed for yellow colour and *kajjala* (lampblack) for black colour.¹⁹

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*Miśravaṛṇa* or mixed colours are also enumerated in some of the texts which are attained by mixing two or three colouring materials or pigments. Red lead mixed with white conch powder gives the colour of red lotus. Red lac mixed with conchpowder gives the colour of boraśva (golden brown). Honey colour is obtained by mixing red chalk with conch powder. Haritāla and śankha were mixed to give the shade of boraśva. Lampblack with conch powder gives a smoky grey colour. Indigo (nīlī) mixed with conch white gives pigeon grey colour. Rājāvarta with conch powder gives the tint of atasīpuṣpa. Indigo with yellow orpiment becomes green. Red chalk when mixed with yellow orpiment becomes lighter in shade. Lampblack mixed with red chalk takes a darker shade. Lampblack with lac attains pink colour and with indigo attains violet colour (Śiv. R. VI.2. 35-41).

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Probably all these pigments were locally prepared and were easily available in those days.

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Metals like gold and silver were also used as colouring materials. The method of preparing gold pigment is mentioned. Gold ore should be pounded well on a stone and adding water to it in a glass container or in a bronze one, it should be shaken slowly again and again. While shaking, the water should be removed by stages until all the dusty particles are removed.

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Finally, only the gold dust will remain in the container because of its weight. This paste of gold should be mixed with the vajralepa and should be used to paint ornaments and other decorations in the picture (Śiv R. VI.2.48-52; ŚR. 45.123-30).

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In all these texts dealing with the art of painting, the term vartika is used which generally means a brush or pencil. But in these texts they are used to connote a crayon or pastel for drawing. We come across the words tiṇḍukavarti and kiṭṭavarti with which the outline of a picture is drawn and they are distinguished as a twig of a special variety of ebony and a black secretion with carbon and prepared as a roll or pastille or varti for sketching (Śiv. R. Vi.2.28).

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