MURAL PAINTINGS
Aparna Biju & Lakshmi Biju
Introduction
Mural paintings are basically any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall,
ceiling or other large permanent surface. They started their artwork with the available technique and colours on their dwelling places and there are reported findings dated back to 30000
BC.
Kerala Murals
Typical Kerala temple murals are based on mythical characters and legends. They are mostly
made between 9th and 12th centuries, when they flourished and we re enjoyed by the royal sector of the population. Kerala murals are recognised and well known for their symmetry and
precision.
Now here are two of the most famous forms of Kerala Mural art:
FABRIC MURALS – These are exactly what they sound like; mural paintings on fabric.
Fabric Murals are very popular in Kerala and can be found inside many temples and churches.
AJANTA MURALS – These are quite a unique type of mural art form and they are also the
earliest form of not only murals but Indian art. Ajanta murals mostly revolve around the life
stories of the Buddha. It has heavily influenced modern Indian art.
Colours of Murals
Selection of colours is very important in mural art paintings and to get the authentic look,
we should choose the colours used in the original paintings. There are unwritten rules to select
colours for each character and there are mainly three major divisions: satvic (divine, balanced,
or pure), rajasic (active, warrior or dynamic) and tamasic (asuras, demons, inert. Satvic usually
uses green, rajasic uses yellow and red and tamasic uses white and black. Even though this is
the general rule, there are exceptions as avatars of Vishnu are usually coloured blue. Saffron
red is generally the most predominant colour in Kerala murals. This colour rules are adapted
for the more recent temple dance forms like Kathakali. Also, the murals of Kerala have been
influenced by the Dravidian art form of ‘kalamezhuthu’.
Now let’s look at a few examples of mural paintings (painted by Mrs Lalitha
Appunny [our grandmother]):
These are examples of mural
paintings on fabric. The paintings
show Krishna (a famous avatar of
Vishnu) alongside Radha. Lots of
mural paintings use Krishna and
Radha. Other Kerala murals depict mythology and legends that are
mostly drawn on the walls of temples and churches.
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