Ethnic Gods & Deities
- Subject: Phad Miniature Painting
- Paint Material: Opaque watercolors and natural dyes
- Base Material: Canvas (unframed)
- Size: 31 in. wide X 15 in. tall (79 cms X 38 cms)
- Age: Modern Handmade Art
- Country of origin: India
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Add a festive touch with this superbly hand-painted Phad painting. You will get a fine and rare piece of art showing the folk deities of Rajasthan in a elaborate ritualistic folk tale.
Phad painting is a scroll style folk painting, practiced in Rajasthan state of India. Phad Painting are large horizontal paintings that portray the epic lives of local folk heroes and demi-gods in Rajasthan. These paintings have the task of representing a complex folk epic narrative, which they achieve through their very specific style of representation. These paintings form a visual backdrop to all-night storytelling performances by wandering minstrels. All phad paintings, no matter what hero they depict, have certain similarities. The canvas is crowded with figures and the pictorial depiction is flat. The figures are arranged in such a way that the minor characters never overlap the main characters, whereas the size of the figures depends on their social status and the importance of the roles they play in the story. The overall picture resembles a temple enshrining the deity as well as a symbolic and conceptual map of the geographical territory in which the incidents from the story occur. The figures in the painting do not face the audience but rather face each other, whereas the only frontal views are those of Gods and Goddesses.
The phad paintings are traditionally very long to accommodate the numerous episodes of the depicted hero-god. The process of making the cloth ready for painting is an important aspect of phad painting. The cotton cloth is first stiffened with starch made from boiling flour and glue, and then burnished with a special stone device called mohra, which smoothens the surface. The artist makes his own pigments using locally available plants and minerals and mixing them with gum and water. Once the composition is laid out in a light yellow color, the artist applies the traditional colors – red, white, green, blue, orange and brown.
Don’t miss out on this exclusive Phad miniature artwork. Order now and brighten up your decor.
