Beauty in Every Shade

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Gomay’s figures appear to be the real women from the world around but he has dramatized them to reveal the appearance of ‘apsaras’ – celestial nymphs of mythical world, or at least that of the medieval courtesans, the experienced heroines in their mature days gesticulating their figures to reveal the magic of their youth and beauty, and in that their lavish ethnic jewellery and style of ensemble, especially their sensuous ‘stana-pata’ – breast-bands, greatly help. The beauty-tower, all three figures romantically poised, a pleasing geometry : arms rhythmically gesticulated and faces twisted to reveal magic, large eyes beautified with lampblack and loaded with tempting looks, sensuously clad, and far more sensuous unclad parts, the damsels, each with a different shade of her figure : their outward being, abound in rare lustre and unsurpassed beauty.

Perhaps aiming at discovering the co-relation of the body-colour and the beauty, the artist has portrayed his figures of the three damsels in three different shades and has succeeded in creating in them beauty that leaves the eye spell-bound. The foremost of the three figures of the beauty-tower, seated in front has been portrayed with the pinkish gold, that standing behind on her left, in gold with rosy tint, and that on her right, in strikingly lustrous purple, the colour of celestial Neela-kamal – blue lotus of the gods’ pond; maybe, when portraying the golden damsels Gomay had in mind the nymphs like Menaka and Uravasi, and when portraying Neela-kamal woman, he had in mind Satyavati, the Matsya-gandha – fish-like smelling daughter of the ferryman of the great epic Mahabharata, who by the strange beauty of her body colour and odour had maddened in love Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur and a descendant of great Bharat who gave to this land his name. Undoubtedly, seeking to represent beauty in such unconventional body-colour is really challenging as also admirable.

Irrespective of their body-colours each of the figures of the three nymphs is so full of lustre that it seems to have been carved out of molten gold. Sensuously modeled : oval roundish faces with well fed cheeks, broad forehead affording space for large pendants and other ornaments, fine features, invitingly sensuous large eyes with well trimmed eyebrows, sensuous lips and well defined necks, the damsels are unsurpassed in beauty. They are endowed with deep black long hair trailing down the ankles where blending with magenta-maroon background it affords to their figures far greater variegating effects, Friends or co-professionals, they essentially belong to one and the same class of society. All three damsels are heavily bejeweled in ornaments consisting of gold and various precious stones, large size emeralds and rubies in special. All ornaments reveal ethnic character; however those on the heads and arms are not only ethnic but also very special. Besides ‘lehengas’, scarlet of the damsel seated in front, and deep magenta, of the Neela-kamal lady, their ensembles include a mere ‘stana-pata’ covering their breasts, that of the lady in front, consisting of pure gold, that of the lady on the left, green with gold, and that on the left, deep magenta and gold.

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. .

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.