History of Kangra Painting
The painting style draws its name from the former princely state of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra. The art form gained prominence with the fall of Bashoi school. However, the new style gathered such huge number of works that the Pahari Painting became synonymous with Kangra paintings.
Kangra paintings originated and flourished at Guler, Basholi, Chamba, Nurpur, Bilaspur etc. However, they soon spread to other parts of hilly tracts like Mandi, Suket, Kulu etc. They were patronised by the Rajput rulers between 17th and 19 th centuries. It finds its true origins in the Guler painting thought and styles.
Guler painters were largely influenced by the grandeur and demeanour of their masters. This trend got morphed into eternal scenes painted in natural settings with colors extracted from minerals and vegetables. There was a great emphasis on the display of nature and its various components. Thus, the drawings were an apt combination of precision, style, proportion and a romance of theme and expressions. The erotic sentiment or Shringar was the focal theme with a close representation of the then societal ways and arts. A careful attention was paid to the details.
The artists made use of multiple shades of green as they always put a special display of natural settings and featured flowering plants and creepers, leafless trees, rivulets and brooks. The subjects seen in Kangra painting exhibit the taste and the traits of the life style of the society. The love story of Radha and Krishna was the main source of spiritual experience, which was also the base for the visual expression. The other popular themes were Gita Govinda by Jayadeva and Bhagavata Purana. Feminine figures are depicted very beautifully in these paintings with soft and refined facial features. Kangra paintings are known for the lyrical blending of form and color. Colors made of vegetable and mineral extracts are used by the artists.
Source:
https://www.gktoday.in/gk/kangra-paintings/