Phad Painting
Rajasthan
This is a popular style of folk painting done in Rajasthan. Traditionally
done on long pieces of cloth known as ‘Phad’, the narratives of folk
deities of Rajasthan, mostly ‘Pabuji’ & ‘Devnarayan’ are depicted on
the Phads.
The Joshi families of Bhilwara, Shahapura are known as the traditional
artists of this folk art form. In Rajasthan, a tradition of wandering minstrels
developed in the 14th century. The stories told were of Rajasthani
folk heroes who were worshipped as demi-Gods. The large horizontal
paintings that portray the epic lives of local folk heroes and demi-Gods
in Rajasthan are popularly known as Phad paintings. 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.
The process of preparing the cloth for painting is an important aspect
of phad painting. The cotton cloth is first stiffened with starch made of
boiled flour and glue and then burnished with a special stone device
called ‘mohra’ which makes the surface smooth. The artist makes his
own pigments using locally available plants and minerals, mixing them
with gum and water. Once the composition is laid out in a light yellow
colour, the artist applies the traditional colour –red, white, green, blue,
orange and brown.
Born in 1969, Kalyan Joshi, son of Padmi Shri awardee Shri Lal Joshi, is a leading
phad
artist who
received the National Award in 2012. He comes from a lineage of
phad
painters dating back to
as early as the 17th century. He has experimented with new stories, contemporary style painting
and line drawing. He is the founder of Ankan, an institute that trains children in the art, and has
participated in exhibitions hosted by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco; the Bharat Bhavan
in Bhopal; the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and the Crafts Museum in New Delhi.
