Gond Paintings - Capturing the Life and Essence of One of India's Largest Tribes.

Gond Paintings - Capturing the Life and Essence of One of India's Largest Tribes

ART WISE

October 03, 2016by Zeina Mehal

An age-old tradition that goes back hundreds of years, tribal art in India beautifully captures the lives of some of the earliest inhabitants of our country. Among these, Gond Art – the unique art form of the Gonds, one of the largest tribes in Central India, specifically in Madhya gond painting Pradesh, truly encapsulates the essence of tribal art.

(Gond Painting; Image Source: isha.sadhguru.org)

Imaginative, vibrant and mystical, paintings by the Gonds were originally done on the walls of their homes, echoing the customs of their cave-dwelling Mesolithic forbearers. Today, many Gond artists have taken to paper and canvas, bringing one of the most exceptional and unusual art forms into the limelight, and into our hearts and homes!

 (A Gond artist with a typical Gond artwork. Image source: gaatha.com)

(Traditional Gond paintings on the walls of the Tribal Museum in Kanha, Madhya Pradesh. Image source: infinityresorts.com)

Like most other tribal art, Gond art is rooted in folk tales and culture. Gond paintings depict almost every aspect of the tribe's lives. Local flora, fauna, Gods and Goddesses, celebrations, festivals, folk-tales and myths are all represented through their art, making story-telling a strong element in their paintings.

(A painting by Gond artist Durga Bai)

(A painting by Bhajju Shyam, based on a Gond folktale)

Gond art is believed to be an offering in worship of nature, based on the Gond belief that a good image ushers in good luck and helps ward off evil. The art form is characterized by an imaginative use of lines and dots, highlighting a sense of balance and symmetry. The paintings are bright and colourful, painted with natural colours derived from charcoal, soil, plant sap, leaves and cow dung.

(Painting by Gond artist Venkat Raman Singh Shyam)

(A Gond artwork by artist Suresh Kumar Dhurve)

Though Gond art has been around for hundreds of years, it was only in the 1980's that the art form gained much-deserved recognition and fame, through the discovery of Jangarh Singh Shyam, a Gond farmer and artist whose artworks received international acclaim and took him to New Delhi, New York, Paris and Tokyo for exhibitions and shows.