[Pic: The murals on the walls of Mattancherry Palace in Kochi
from http://hinduexistence.org/tag/mattancherry-palace-kochi/]
Kerala temple murals were wall paintings done on the walls of the sanctums of temples, palaces etc. These works date back to 9th - 12th CE. They are comparatively well preserved in some ancient palaces etc. In art the most oldest works used three colors red, black and white. If ever a third color was used it was either green. Paintings like Mandana which was discussed in the previous blogs use the reds, whites. Whereas in Kerala temple murals as they are known as nowadays to differentiate from other temple murals , like the modern "traditional" wall paintings done on temple walls with the commercial glossy paints etc. and other ancient murals found on the temples like the temples of Kanchipuram etc., use panchavarna [5 colors] - white of the wall, black of the charcoal, red, yellow and green [ in rare cases blue is also used. It is obtained from Neelamari.]. The green here is obtained by mixing the yellow with the blue from Neelamari. Some artists also used to use imported indigo.
[Pic: Painting of Lord Ganesha in the Kerala temple mural style on canvas.]
[Pic: The mural designs on the roof of Guruvayoor temple]
[Pic: Painting of TriMukha Ganesha in the Kerala temple mural style on canvas.]
[Pic: Painting of Radha Madhavam in the Kerala temple mural style on Kerala Saree]
There are various branches of Kerala temple mural styles. Each one beautiful in it's own way. I learnt the Mammiyoor style practiced in Guruvayoor. The traditional way of doing the paintings are pain staking with the base prepared organically using tender coconut, lime etc. Once done the sketching is done using charcoal [generally Aryavep/Neem branches etc. are burnt to make charcoal sticks] and then the yellow base is applied to wherever needed followed by further yellow, blue or red applications as per the figure or design need. Since this form was done on walls, and that used to make it difficult to transfer the work to a new site, or impossible to conduct exhibitions etc. the new generation artists do the art form on canvas and other media including plywood, cloth etc. Kerala sarees and shirts with these mural designs, terracota jewellery with these images and designs are a rage in India and abroad, especially amongst keralites. This makes it possible to convert the murals limited to the interiors of temples and palaces into a kitch art form reach into the hands of rich and middle class people who generally love these works because of it's beautiful design elements and vibrant colors.
- Bindu P V
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