By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
India has a prolific cultural and historic heritage. The country is made up of diverse tribes, religions, languages, customs and mythologies.
Indians are known to worship about 330 million Gods and thus have diverse mythologies. The paintings that portray them differ according to the materials and methods.
The Cheon Gye Cheon Museum is showcasing some 100 Indian folk paintings that speak of the tradition behind Indian religions as well as the history of its majestic art through Feb. 28.
The mediums and techniques of the paintings are diverse, depending on specific areas. Visitors can enjoy Madhubani mythology paintings from Bihar Province and southern Indian paintings in exhibition hall I. Warli mythology is depicted in works from Maharashtra Province, which can be seen in hall II.
Based on the three categories of paintings, the exhibition narrates the stories of Gods and humans. They also portray the daily lives of Indians who lived in harmony with nature.
In exhibition hall I, the south Indian mythology paintings show Hindu traditions from south India that have been well preserved since it was not influenced by Islam.
The themes of these works are mostly the myths of Hinduism. The characters portrayed in the paintings are delicately and intricately done using natural dyes, cotton, silk and leaves. The paintings follow the way of traditional expression in art and this is what distinguishes it from other Indian artforms.
``The south Indian paintings are very sophisticated and at the same time flamboyant. So viewers are immediately captivated by the beauty of the artistry,'' Lee Young-joo, a curator of the museum, said.
Meanwhile, the Madhubani paintings are the most well known in India. The themes describe Indians who are closely related to mythology. Painters were mostly women who drew freely with any tools and medium.
``These paintings are marked by free-style forms and compositions with bold expressions. The Madhubani mythology paintings with flamboyant colors and disintegration and reinterpretation of the objects are associated with the images of Picasso's paintings, while the strong colors are reminiscent of Matisse's work,'' she said.
Among others, ``Kohbar'' paintings of marriage proposals are extremely unique and it is hard to find a similar example of this painting in any other country's art history. Kohbar paintings are filled with rich imagistic detail, contributing significance to the meaning of the whole, based on mythological, folk themes and tantric symbolism. The exhibition's Kohbar paintings show that women proposing to men are usually drawn using only one color.
The Warli mythology paintings were the only means through which the Warli tribe of Indian Maharashtra province expressed their points of view. The tribe paints with white rice powder on textiles or mud-plastered walls which are applied using cattle dung several times based on a tradition that has been passed down from ancient generation.
``The Warli paintings are similar with the Korean rock paintings in that they simplify the objects in a monochrome tone,'' she said.
Admission is free. For more information, call (02) 2286-3410 or visit www.cgcm.go.kr.