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The Art of Painting of the
Tamils
from the Sangam Age to the Age of Kamban
Trivikrama Narayan
[paper presented at Second International Conference Seminar
of Tamil Studies,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, January 1968]
Introductory
Resume of Findings
Grouping of Subject Matter
Literary Evidence - Classical
Period
Literary Evidence - Hymnal Period
Literary Evidence - Epic Period
Paintings in Inscriptions &
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
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." (1)
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.(2) 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.(3) 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. "(4) 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 (146) 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 (18-66), 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 (177) 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.(5) 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 (Nhannuul 55).
Paintings in Inscriptions &
Conclusion
The Pallava king Makecnhthira Varman I has called himself
a tiger among painters, Ciththirakkaarapptulli, in two
inscriptions, one at Kacci (6) and the other at Pallaavaram.(7) This title does not seem to
have been a vain one, as another epigraph of his, at
MaamaNTuur has recorded that he wrote a commentary called
'Southern Painting' based on ancient texts.(8) A Chola inscription has referred
to the existence of a painted hall at
Thanjcaavuur.(9) This
must have perished.
The entire subject of Tamil painting in all its
aspects deserves to be dealt with in a comprehensive and
well-illustrated monograph.
Notes
1.
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, Outline of Art, p. 8.
2 DR. ANANDA
COOMARASWAMY, Introduction to Indian Art.
3. Indian Antiquary,
Vol. 52, p. 45; Journ of the Annamalai University, II
(1933), p. 34.
4. V. KANAKASABHAI
PILLAI, The Tamils 1800 Years Ago, 2nd, ed., Madras,
1956, p. 129.
5. WILLIAM SHARP,
Progress of Art in the Nineteenth Century, p. 95.
6. JOUVEAU-DUBREUIL'S
Pamphlet, Conjeeveram Inscription of Mahendra Varman
I.
7. Madras
Epipraphist's Report, 1909, pt. II, pp.74,75.
8. South Indian
Inscriptions, Vol. IV, pp.127 ff.
9 South Indian
Inscriptions, Vol.III, pp. 9, 17.
Bibiliography
GOVINDASWAMI, S. K., " Paintings of
the Great Temple, Tanjore ", Journal of the Annamalai
University, It (1933).
JOUVEAU-DUBREUIL, " Pallava Painting at Sittanavasal'
Indian Antiquary, Vol. 52.
MINAKSHI, C., Administration and Social Life under the
Pallava. RAMACHANDRA, T. N., " Pallava Painting ", Ojha
Commemoration Volume. --, " The Royal Artist ", Indian
History Congress, 1931.
SASTRI, K A. N., The Colas.
TRIVIKRAMA NARAYANAN, The Sculpture and Painting of the
Sangam Age, Swadesamitran Weekly, Yuva, Chittirai
8.
---, "Tamil Painting ", Archaeological Society of South
India, 22 Jan.1945.
---, "Early Tamil Painting ", Silpi, 1948.
---, "Painting of Ancient Tamils ", All India Radio, 29
March 1960.
---, " The Fine Arts of the Sangam Age, " Tiruvalluvar
KaZllagam~ Madurai, 23 Nov.1961.
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