Rudra-Shiva, Parvati and Vishnu

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Now the ‘tripunda’ mark is more meaningful. The third eye emerged on the forehead has swung it into the space where a wheel of fire with no length or breadth but only the motion, rotating to measure out everything, over-rides all three cosmic zones that the ‘tripunda’ mark symbolises. A humanised face but awful eyes more like those of a fierce lion – seen sometimes in the iconography of Vishnu’s Narsimha incarnation, and the identically fierce third eye, make his form as Rudra more accomplished. Not merely as the Ultimate Destroyer even in Shaivite myths Shiva had such Raudra – wrathful, form on some other occasions too. When his consort Sati, insulted by her own father Daksha Prajapati, immolated herself in the fire of her father’s Yajna, Shiva’s Raudra-rupa – wrathful form, emerged and he commanded his Gana Virabhadra to destroy the Yajna and those holding it or participating in it.

Parvati, who symbolises ‘Prakriti’ – the formal nature, has been represented as one partly reflecting Shiva’s mood and partly fearing his wrath and destructive hands. That mood of Shiva reflects in the red which constitutes her head and in her third eye, and her apprehension, in dead yellow with which her face has been conceived, and in the form of her normal eye where fear lurks. As Parvati is Shiva’s other half, she has like him an abstracted manifestation – a partially abstract and partially manifest form. It is different with Vishnu. When the cosmos has been destroyed, Vishnu also perishes though to re-emerge. After millions of years of the divine act of destruction followed by the Great Deluge Vishnu re-appears as a child floating on the surface of abyssal waters not knowing who he is, where he is, and what for he is. This state of Vishnu’s ignorance, or rather non-being, that texts and other sources represent in his child-form, the artist of this rare piece has visualised as ‘conch’ – one of the Vishnu’s essential attributes, and hence his identity, representing Vishnu but neither his physical form nor his knowing mind.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.