Introductory
Of all the arts painting has the least pretensions to immortality.
"Though nothing now remains of the paintings of the Greek artists
Zeuxis and Apelles," observed the renowned British painter, Sir William
Orpen, " We know not only from contemporary appreciation but by the
later wall paintings of Pompeii and the memorial portraits of Alexandria
that classical painting reached a high standard of realistic
efficiency."
The position of ancient Tamil painting was similar.
We have in the Tamil country a few examples of later days which came
to light in the first half of this century. The great scholar
Ananda Coomaraswamy deplored that no regular search had been made for paintings in the older parts and the more neglected surfaces of the southern
temples.
His words gave the cue to three enthusiasts whose efforts proved the
continuity of Tamil pictorial art from the seventh century onwards,
namely T. A. Gopinatha Rao at Ciththamlavaacal, Jouveau-Dubreuil at
Kaanjciipuram and S. K. Govindaswami at
Thanjcaavuur. It was V. Kanakasabhai Pillai who first drew attention ha his epoch-making book, The
Tamils 1800 years ago to the " considerable degree of proficiency of the Tamils in the art of painting.
"But no systematic attempt was made to find out what evidence lay
enshrined in literature. Such a study spread over a long period has
yielded to me an appreciable number of valuable references to the
practice of painting.
Resume of Findings
The collected references show that the poets held painters in great
respect. The ordinary people seem to have lived and moved among
pictures. They saw pictures almost
everywhere - on the inner and outer walls of buildings, whether
religious or secular, public or private, even inside the marble chambers
of pleasure parks as at Pukaar, on
palanquins, boards, scrolls, screens and toys. A picture stood for all
that was lovely and even ordinary people were capable of estimating
artistic merit. There were professional and amateur artists. There was
once a manual in Tamil called Ooviya
nhuul - a textbook for both painters and dancers. Sketching from memory
as well as uncoloured
line drawings are also alluded to. The texts praise the ideal loveliness
of paintings, in fact the best trait of Greek art and the perfect art
of the west until recent times. Caaththanaar said that painters were
capable of depicting any thing in their art. In the old practice of
Maral eetuthal, the portrait of the girl loved by the disappointed youth
was painted. Paintings of attractive landscapes and city scenes imply a
knowledge of the art concepts like composition, rhythm, balance,
harmony and contrast. There is mention
in the texts of brushes, boards, scrolls and parchments as well as
pictures painted on walls.
Grouping of Subject Matter
The subject will be dealt with under the following headings:
(a) Literary evidence: (i) Classical period, (ii) Hymnal period, (iii) Epic period;
(b) Epigraphic evidence.
A survey of the material reveals that while references are numerous
in the literature of the first (classical) period they are not so in the
later periods. The first
period - the age of the Sangam works - was really the Augustan age. It
was the age of prolific poesy of men and women of diverse creeds and
callings, of spartan heroism and of trade relations with one of the
mightiest empires known to history. Little wonder, therefore, that
literature was in a flourishing state and that it preserved vivid
pictures of life
of those days. The references to painting therein are remarkable
indications of their creative impulse. Their paintings
have depicted the fascinating scenes of love and war that are treated
with such meticulous regard to the canons of
classification peculiar to Tamil poetry.
Literary Evidence -
Classical Period
It has to be mentioned at the outset that there is a significant and
unique linguistic usage from the earliest times to the present day. It
shows that the history of pictorial art must have commenced when they
began to use pictorial symbols to record their spoken words. We still
have the same word for both drawing a picture and
writing - ezhuththu. It will be an amusing howler in any other language
if it is expressed therein that so and so " wrote " a
picture. But it is a pleasing idiom in Tamil.
The Tamil word ooviyam for painting stood for all that was lovely and
excellent. So, it became a poetic formula
for the description of anything beautiful - a charming girl, an
attractive house or an arresting scene. The poet simply said that the
sight was a beautiful as a painted picture.
About the attractiveness of a girl, we read he NhattiNai thus::
" A beauty fit to be seen as that of a picture drawn by a master who
has won the praise of a gathering of enthusiastic admirers. "
This indicates that ordinary people were able to assess artistic
merit in those days. In the epic,
MaNimeekalai , we see the love-lorn prince Uthayakumaran waiting
in the pleasure park to
see the maiden ascetic, MaNimeekalai. Observing his presence, she
hurries in fright to the marble chamber in the park. He pursues her
there and peeps into it. " Oh, here is some painted stuff of the marble
chamber ", so saying the confounded prince withdraws, much to the relief
of Maathavi's saintly daughter.
A poet of NhattiNai spoke of a damsel's beautiful figure which
had to be drawn
again and again in regret by a painter. This may refer to regular
sittings given by fashionable ladies for portraits as in the west. We
feel that the expression oovaththanan (meaning as that of a painting)
used by poets (Pathittuppaththu 61-68, Akam 98, NhattiNai 182, and
Mathuraikkaanjoi 365) for the description of dwellings and city scenes
was more significant than the well worn adjective ' picturesque ' in
English.
The essentially imaginative character of painting is reflected in the
common names by which painters are called. In Kaliththokai (Paalai 22)
they are spoken of as
PulanuTai-maanthir, i.e., people with insight. Another common name was
KaNNulh-vinainjar in Mathuraikkaanjci (517-519). According to the
commentator it meant ' those that present their work before the
spectator's eye'. The commentator belonged to the later days when art
ceased to be a vital force. The meaning intended by the ancient poets
who must have lived with painters must be ' those with the inner eye or
mind's eye'. The meaning is clear from the context in which the painters
are mentioned. The lines run thus:
" Those who imitate any kind of object, who possess keen insight and
penetrating perception, those who work with their inner eye "
(Mathuraikkaanjci 517-519).
The same meaning is emphasised in a line of MaNimeekalai (5-7) which
speaks of " what the painter thought in his mind to depict". The epic
gives an interesting description of a scene of picture-gazing by
wayfarers. While going to the pleasure park to gather flowers,
MaNimeekalai and her companion Cuthamathi saw " those who were looking
at bewitching paintings executed by artists on white plaster over the
walls of high mansions raised in burnt brick, depicting torms flora the
gods of heaven down to every kind of living being" (3; 127-131). The
name
iththakar meaning 'the able ones' has been used in these lines to denote
the painters. In a list of city craftsmen the epic enumerates (28;
34-38) potters, coppersmiths, bell-metal workers, goldsmiths,
carpenters, clay-sculptors and the
painter folk, painting through their boon (of inspiration). The poets of
Paripaara/ (21) and NhatfiNai (146) even called the painter a valloon
or powerful one.
We need not be sceptical about the extraordinary abilities claimed for
painters. The mystic painter-poet of 19th century England, William
Blake, famous for his originality and spirituality, had never seen the
ocean. But he painted the picture of the ocean from his imagination. A
modern critic could not find any previous master who had equalled
in truth and impressive majesty, Blake's vision of the ocean. " There is
nothing like it in art. It is purely imaginative, but in realism it
surpasses all realistic art. It is the veritable triumph of
imagination." So observed William
Sharp.
In his third discourse at the Royal Academy Sir Joshua Reynolds
emphasized the essentiality of imagination for artists and recalled the
example of a Greek artist thus: " Having a perfect idea of beauty fixed
in his mind, he steadily contemplated and to the imitation of this, all
his skill and labour were directed. "
Tamil culture once had a manual of painting called Ooviya 7111UUI
which, the author of MaNimeekalai said, was well-designed for the
dancing women (2: 30 31). The commentary on Cilappathikaaram (8: 23-26)
has drawn attention to the Ooviya nhuul where the poses and postures in
dance have been prescribed. The work is, however, stated to have been
lost even before the time of the commentator. There is an allusion to
the work in Perungkathai (35 47). it seems natural that a common
treatise on the human figure in motion was in use for both painters and
dancers. It seems that besides this old manual there was a later work in
Tamil called Cithithira caaththiram. A few years ago (1962) I was
thrilled to notice that name in the list of old palm-leaf manuscripts in
the Tamil Sangam at Mathurai. To my utter disappointment the manuscript
could not be traced. It was apparently lost in a fire that occurred
there once or was eaten by white ants later.
In the lost seaport capital, Pukaar, there were bright temples
displaying varied paintings (PaTTinappaalai 49-50). ParipaaTal (19:
53-57) describes thus a crowd of visitors busy admiring the frescoed
walls of the Tirupparankuntam temple. " Near the abode of Maanmaruka (at
Parankuntam) amid the bamboos and rocks are halls with diverse
paintings where visitors gather and pointing to the pictures learn their
story." Things wonderful are sometimes attributed to divine authorship.
The KutunJztllokai (89) mentions " a delicate little girl like the
damsel drawn by the large-eyed deity on the western side of the dread
Kolli hill of the Chera king". A similar description is found in the
NaDttiNai (185) also.
This Kolli figure reappears in the devotional poetry of Thirumangkai
Aazhvaar. The PaanTiya king NheTumaaran is stated to have died in a
painted chamber (Pt/tAl7l 59). we learn from from the
CitupaaNNaattuppaTai (20--22) that its hero, NalliyakkoTan belonged to
the group called Ooviyar. This probably shows that there was once a
distinct professional class of painters. He is also referred to in a
poem of Putaz1l (176). There was also a poet named Perum-Ciththiranaar.
He had perhaps something to do with painting. There is a seeming
allusion to painting and the brush in couplet 1285 of
Thirukural.
The early commentator Parithiyaar has given this interpretation while
the later commentators have said that the application of collyrium is
spoken of therein. We may hold the earlier commentary to be correct.
Sundry objects and articles such as the following were beautified by
pictures, drawings and ornamental designs: banners and curtains (Putam
56, Thirumuruku 151, Cilam 3-95, 6-109. Perwzgkathai 4-14), palanquins
(Perungkathai 1-38), toys (NhattiNai 58) and the ceiling of the bed
chamber (NheTunhalvaaTai 159-162). The figures of damsels mentioned in
the following texts were evidently painted ones: Mathuraikkaandsi 723,
Akanl 369, MaNimeekalai 7-295, 21-115. A portrait was painted in the
quaint old Tamil practice of self-torture called maTaleetuthal performed
by a disappointed lover. The desperate young man paints or gets the
picture of the girl he loves (KutunAthokai 286). The black and white
works which came into prominence in the last century in the west are
described in the texts. MaNimeekalai states (22-88) that the heroine
entered a house and stood like a punaiyaaooviyam, explained in the
commentary as a picture drawn only in lines, without the use of colours.
The word is met with in NheTunhalvaaTai also (147). The Tamil painter
evidently knew the great secret of the graphic art that the bold strokes
of a rapid sketch gave more
life to it than meticulous finishing with all minor shades and details
and colours. This can be easily verified by having before us a
photograph and a well-drawn sketch of the same figure made up of only a
few lines. A few suggestive lines make a greater demand on the play of
imagination than a finished picture and the truth is that the spectators
mind is a far better painter than the painter's hand. To adapt Keats'
famous lines, " seen sights are lovely, but those unseen are lovelier
still." Even in the caseof finished pictures, Reynolds said in his
discourse cited above that a firm and determined outline is one of the
characteristics of great style. The painting of groups and panoramic
views as already stated would be successful only by the subtle effects
of composition. A knowledge of these qualities was probably acquired by
the ancient Tamil painters after long experience, by trial and error.
Though detailed accounts of secular painting, of frescoed chambers of
courtesans and of portraits of beauty queens and of painting materials
are met with the CiivakacinhthaamaNi and Perungkathai, it is not
proposed to notice them here as they do not strictly pertain to the
Tamil country.
Literary Evidence - Hymnal
Period
This was the age of Hindu revival, when reformed Hinduism copied the
example of Buddhism and Jainism in appealing to the masses in their own
language. But the latter's love of painting does not seem to have been
copied. The lack of interest in pictorial art is indicated by the
paucity of literary references.
Yet the inborn aesthetic feelings unwittingly crept into the devotional
pieces. " Neither colour nor shape could be seen by me", regretted
Appar at Thirukkazhippaalai. " on the canvas of my mind
was thy figure drawn", he observed at Thiruvaaruur. A similar statement
was made by Periyaalzhvaar (in Tl1irl/mozAi 5-4) who sang: " on the
walls ol my heart I have drawn for myself all thy acts of prowess
without exception." He describes that the divine child (Krishna) walked
thus: (1~8-6) '* when he walked, the footprints left here and there
resembled pairs of feet drawn with the conch in one and the discus in
the other." His description of the music of Krishna's flute is superb.
'L Towards the sound of his flute herds of deer gazed. They forgot their
grazing; the grass slipped from their month. Without moving either
side, without changing their position, they stood like a painted
picture" (3-6-9). The beauty of ATTapuyakara thirumaal at Kacci stole
the heart of not only his own devotee, Thirumangkai Aazhvaar but also of
Siva's devotee, Cunhtharar. The former asked: " who is this so full of
loveliness with lotus eyes and beauteous body like a portrait drawn by a
master-painter?" Cunhtharar refers to the deity in his hymn on
Anhekathangkaavatham.
Literary Evidence - Epic Period
Kampar's references are numerous and only a few will be noticed here.
He spoke of a face that resembled a red lotus which had bloomed in a
painting. (CuntharakaaNTam KaaTcippaTalam 20). Ciithai's loveliness and
brilliance were those of a very painting (KitkinAthaakaaNTam
KaarkaalappaTalam 1). Vaali appreciated the fine figure of even his
opponent. " oh, one who is handsome like a painting ", so he addressed
Raama (KiT-VaalivathaippaTalam 127). Anhumaan was pained to see Ciithai
in the Acooka-vanam " like a painting that had absorbed smoke"
(CunAthara-KaaTcippaTalam 11). Kampar had obviously seen such damaged
paintings. We have in the
Cunhttharah-kaaNTam a small interlude which is not found in Vaalmiiki's
text. Since the coming of Ciithai, RaavaNan neglected his former
favourites. " What use is weeping now," they sigh, '' can we not at
least draw the portrait of our master? " (Cunhtharar-UurtheeTupaTalam
172). Sketching from memory was probably in vogue in those days and that
by women.
In the time of Ceekkizhaar there must have been mural pictures as
described in his PeriyapuraaNam (Campanhthar 1173). The hagiographer
said that Paravayaar was so beautiful that the painting of her picture
was the despair of the creator
(ThaTuththaaTkoNTapuraaNam, 141) In the Tamil grammar of the Jain saint
PavaNanhthi we read that picturcs are essential to mansions as towers to
cities and jewels to the dancers
Adhimoolam
said it was quite a challenge to create something that would match
Valluvar's work. ''He was such a great poet... it is very difficult to
match his ideas with illustrations. His thoughts and words are beyond
illustration. Yet, I have put my heart and mind to it. As I was given
the first chapter, I was to paint his concept of God. He referred to God
as Almighty like the first letter in the alphabet, Aah. As an artist who
lives in the 21st century, I feel fortunate to have painted his ideas."
