Patna School of Painting
Description
The Patna School of Painting (also Patna Qalaam, or Patna Kalam) is a style of Indian painting which existed in Bihar, India in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Patna School dealt almost exclusively with common people and their lifestyles, which helped the paintings gain in popularity. The principal centres of this style were in Patna, Danapur and Arrah.
The art historian, Mildred Archer said of the Patna School of painting that: "It marks the fusion of Eastern and Western taste which occurred in the nineteenth century and mirrors the interests and artistic fashions of the period. The school is, in fact, a summary of the complicated interplay of European and Indian cultures in the nineteenth century." Read more ↗
Key Artists
Sewak Ram
Pioneering early master of the Patna School who migrated from Murshidabad to Patna; renowned for large-scale depictions of local festivals, occupations, and processions using the direct 'Kajli Seahi' brush technique.
Shiva Lal
Foremost mid-19th-century Patna master (titled 'Shahi Mushavir') who established a major commercial atelier ('Shahi Mushavir Khana') producing refined miniature portraits, court scenes, and firka sets.
Hulas Lal
Master painter of the Patna Kalam tradition who excelled in detailed botanical and zoological studies as well as animated crowd scenes depicting ceremonies and daily occupations.
Shiva Dayal
Prominent late-19th-century Patna artist specializing in vivid, realistic vignettes of regional artisans, tradespeople, and village life.
Ishwari Prasad Verma
The last major traditional master of the Patna Kalam lineage; served as Vice Principal of the Calcutta School of Art and provided critical oral histories documenting the school's heritage to early scholars.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
Patna Kalam artists famously employed the 'Kajli Seahi' technique, painting directly with loaded brushes onto paper or mica without drawing any preliminary pencil outlines.
↗ Source: britannica.com
To create brushes of extreme precision for painting microscopic hair and facial details, Patna artists harvested soft hair exclusively from the tails of squirrels during autumn.
↗ Source: collections.vam.ac.uk