Painting or Tanjavur Painting is a form of art developed in
the Southern part of India in a place called Tanjore or Tanjavur.
350 Km south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Tanjore, once capital
of the Chola Empire, was ruled by the Marathas in the 17th
century. The Maratha rulers encouraged this art in Tanjore.
In Mysore the art was patronized by Maharaja Mummadi Krishnarajendra
form of art is unique. It uses a lot of precious stones and
pure gold foils to fill in as ornaments and clothing of the
figurines, mostly depicting Hindu Mythology Gods like Shiva,
Vishnu, Lakshmi, Parvathi, Krishna, Ganesh and others. These
paintings are in great demand for decorating the living room
and puja or prayer room of many.
art has undergone quite a bit of change, not in the style
of the painting, but in the use of raw material for preparing
the board and the use of painting material as well as the
use of synthetic material in place of precious stones.
use of pure gold foil of 22/ 24 carat continues and the life
of such paintings is long if done and preserved in a correct
are SEVEN STEPS to making a Tanjore painting
1. Preparing the board to make the painting.
STEP 2 Sketching the figure and fixing the stones.
STEP 3 Filling around the stone work with a thin mix of gum
and chalk powder.
and relief work around the stone setting with a thicker mix.
STEP 4 Cleaning the work and fixing the gold foil over the
stones and relief work.
STEP 5 Cutting the gold foil to expose the stone work.
STEP 6 Painting the figures and the background
STEP 7 Checking for flaws, correcting and fixing the glass
each of the steps appears to be easy and simple, a lot of
care is needed at every step to ensure that the final product
is flawless and superb.
shall in separate notes discuss each step in detail and also
point out common defects that occur and method to correct
No two paintings can be alike and no two artists can give
the same effects on the work. Each will have to exercise his/
her commonsense to arrive at a good finish.
The effort is to guide the artist to use the right material
and method to produce a good picture.
you wish to learn or improve your learning, I shall guide
you on specific needs.
is no charge for the service.
am a 77 year old retired engineer. I learnt the art from a
qualified Master 5 years ago. I have done over 80 paintings
and I continue to paint.
you have the will and interest there is no bar to learning
this fine art at any age.