Have you ever wondered what Indian Art was like before Western influences? When Canvas boards, brushes and paints weren’t available to us? We are familiar with cave paintings, but what about art that could be bought? Looking at Ancient Indian Art, we have already familiarised ourselves with sculptures and paintings for Monarchs, but we have not familiarised ourselves with art practices for the Middle Class communities.
Tribal Art is a great topic to focus on in this regard, for their practices are based entirely on the functioning of their communities.
A lot of tribes have evolved their art practices through the influences of Mughals and the British, but there are still some that follow their ancient practices entirely.
The Santhal Tribe is one such example. They use handmade paper as their canvas upon which they paint with natural colours from plants. Their livelihood is based on cultivation, and their entertainment is based on dancing and creating music. Their paintings represent…