Pichwai are large devotional Hindu painted pictures, normally on cloth, portraying Lord Krishna. Pichwai paintings also known as "Pichvai" is a traditional Indian art having its origins in Rajasthan.
Pichwai is a style of painting that originated over 400 years ago, in the town of Nathdwara near Udaipur in Rajasthan. The pichwai paintings, made on cloth, depict tales from Lord Krishna's life.
Originally Pichwai was painted on the handspun starched cotton fabric. The artisans would then sketch the art on that starched cloth. Then the decorative and beautiful images were created. The images were then ready to be painted with completely organic and natural colors, paints and even natural brushes.
The Pichwai style is from the Nathdwara School, and is identified by characteristic features of large eyes, broad nose and a heavy body, similar to the features on the idol of Shrinathji. Different paintings are made for different occasions, different seasons, festivals, and so on.
The work of Pichwai artists is intricate, detailed and visually stunning. Artists use tools such as brushes made from goat tail hair, coconut shells to hold colours, charcoal made from tamarind twigs and more. Shades of red, gold and stone make up the Pichwai colour palette.
The Pichwai paintings portray a variety of stories, including the life of Lord Krishna, Vallabhacharya's family history, cows, lotuses and many other beautiful patterns from nature. The major motifs were of cows, lotuses, Gopis , Radha Ji, peacocks and trees.
The purpose of pichwais, other than artistic appeal, is to narrate tales of Krishna to the illiterate. Temples have sets with different images, which are changed according to the calendar of festivals celebrating the deity. To make Pichwai prominent for today, the artist has contemporized the artform without compromising its traditional touch. A Pichwai now belongs everywhere. Because of their beauty and brilliance, Pichwais are now also hung on house walls and other places and are no longer restricted to the temples. Hence, the artists are now making paintings of smaller proportions, which are apt for the smaller homes of today.
(This blogpost is a part of BlogChatter's #BLOGCHATTERA2Z2023)
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