BASHOLI PAINTINGS

Basholi Paintings

Basholi is a town located in the foot-hills of Shivalik mountains in Kathua District of Jammu Division. It is adjacent to Himachal Pardesh separated by river Ravi. In the late 17th century, Basholi emerged as a great centre of painting.

The different themes of the paintings are religious (Gita Govinda and Ramayana), secular, historical, contemporary and literary. Besides the paintings bring out extreme emotion combined with a lyrical sense of Basali landscape.

The chief characteristics of the Basohli paintings are geometrical patterns, bright colors and glossy enamel. Besides the bold colors, lustrous enamel like colors were also employed. The decorative conventions and dramatic compositions where the figures were shown clad in rich costumes, stylized faces, and large bulging eyes lent unique individuality to these paintings.

The popular themes of the Basohli paintings are the portraits of local rulers, the Hindu gods, figures from Hindu mythology, Radha-Krishna, Madhava-Malati love themes and themes from the Bhagavata Purana. Figures in Basohli paintings were often depicted in rich costumes with stylized faces and large bulging eyes. Basohli paintings evolved by fusion of Hindu mythology, Mughal miniature techniques and folk art of the local hills. In these paintings the faces of the figures painted are characterized by the receding foreheads and large expressive eyes shaped like lotus petals. The landscape is stylized and trees are often depicted in circular form. The composition is simple but unique. The paintings themselves are mostly painted in the primary colors of Red, Blue and Yellow.