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'''Patna School of Painting''' (also '''Patna Qalaam''', '''Patna Kalam''', or '''Company painting''') is a style of Indian painting which existed in [[Bihar]], [[India]] in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.1upindia.com/states/bihar/culture.html |title=Bihar Culture |access-date=19 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617044656/http://www.1upindia.com/states/bihar/culture.html |archive-date=17 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Patna Qalaam was the world’s first independent school of painting which dealt exclusively with the commoner and their lifestyle which also helped Patna Kalam paintings gain in popularity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/bihar/patna-kalam-comes-alive-in-30-minute-documentary/cid/1341613|title=Patna Kalam comes alive in 30-minute documentary|website=www.telegraphindia.com|language=en|access-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225175145/https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/bihar/patna-kalam-comes-alive-in-30-minute-documentary/cid/1341613|archive-date=25 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Principal centers were [[Patna]], [[Danapur]] and [[Arrah]].<br />
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== Origin ==<br />
[[File:Hot water seller.jpg|thumb|Bhisti (Water seller)]]<br />
Patna Kalam is an off-shoot of [[Mughal painting]]. The Mughal style of painting matured in the regime of [[Jahangir]], and his period was considered the golden era of Mughal paintings,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://inficentre.blogspot.com/2011/09/patna-kalam-paintings-introduction.html|title=Patna Kalam Paintings an Introduction|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515084817/http://inficentre.blogspot.com/2011/09/patna-kalam-paintings-introduction.html|archive-date=15 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> but during the rule of [[Aurangzeb]] in the late 17th and early 18th century, artisans faced mass prosecution and aversion in art and painting. The painters migrated from [[Old Delhi|Delhi]] looking for shelter in different places. One such group moved eastward and landed in [[Murshidabad]] under the patronage of the [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Nawab of Bengal]] and other local aristocrats. <br />
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In the mid 18th century, after the fall of The Nawab of Bengal and subsequent decline of Murshidabad, the artisans started moving to the next biggest city in the east, [[Patna]]. In Patna they came under patronage of local aristocracy and often [[Indophile]] scions of the early East India and started a unique form of painting which came to be known as the Company painting, or Patna Kalam.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/56522/return-patna-kalam.html|title=Return of the 'Patna Kalam'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515084815/https://www.deccanherald.com/content/56522/return-patna-kalam.html|archive-date=15 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/patna-kalam-painting-origin-and-characteristics-1548754612-1|title=Patna Kalam Painting- Origin and Characteristics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425113316/https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/patna-kalam-painting-origin-and-characteristics-1548754612-1|archive-date=25 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
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== Style ==<br />
Patna Kalam is regarded as an off-shoot of [[Mughal painting]], with influences from Persian and Company (British) styles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bharatonline.com/bihar/art-craft/patna-kalam.html|title=Patna Kalam - Patna School of Painting Bihar India|website=www.bharatonline.com|access-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225175434/http://www.bharatonline.com/bihar/art-craft/patna-kalam.html|archive-date=25 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The portraits can be clearly seen having colours and linings from Mughal style, and the shading can be seen to be adopted from the British style.<ref>{{Citation|last=Rajya Sabha TV|title=RSTV Documentary - Patna Kalam|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N15kNy4i6co|access-date=2018-12-25}}</ref> Diverging from the Mughal and Persian style of wide and exquisitely decorated borders, Patna Kalam primarily focused on the subject of the painting. <br />
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Unlike Mughal painting, which focused on the royalty and court scenes, flag bearers of Patna Kalam were deeply influenced by daily life of common man. Their main subjects were local festivals, ceremonies, bazaar scenes, local rulers, and domestic activities. The paintings were done on diverse surfaces such as paper, mica, and even ivory diskettes, that were used as brooches.<ref name=":1" /><br />
[[File:Shiv Lal.jpg|thumb|Tamtam (Horse drawn carriage) -by Shiv Lal]]<br />
A distinguishing characteristic of Patna Kalam is lack of any landscape, foreground or background. Another characteristic was the development in the shading of solid forms. Patna Kalam paintings are painted straightway with the brush without marking with pencil to delineate the contours of the picture and the procedure of painting is popularly known as 'Kajli Seahi.'<ref name=":2" /><br />
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== Patna Kalam Today ==<br />
Some well known painters of Patna Kalam were Sewak Ram, Hulas Lall, Shiv Lal, Shiva Dayal, Mahadeo Lal, and Ishwari Prasad Verma. There is currently no one to carry on the tradition. Only three collections of Patna Kalam paintings exist in Bihar, one at the [[Patna Museum]] and others at Khuda Baksh library, Patna, and [[Patna University]]’s College of Arts and Crafts. The Patna Kalam flourished only as long as its Western patrons existed.<br />
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== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Holi being played in the courtyard, ca 1795 painting.jpg|Holi being played in the courtyard, ca 1795 painting in Patna style.<br />
File:Painting of the Golghar Granary (Patna style).JPG|[[Gol Ghar]], 19th Century Painting<br />
File:Durga Puja, 1809 watercolour painting in Patna Style.jpg|Durga Puja, 1809 watercolour painting in Patna Style<br />
File:Golghar at Bankipur, near Patna, 1814-15.jpg|GolGhar, 19th Century Painting<br />
File:City of Patna, on the River Ganges, 19th century.jpg|Patna along The Ganges<br />
File:Snake Charmer, India, Patna School, 19th century, Honolulu Museum of Art.JPG|Snake charmer, 19th century<br />
</gallery><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Wikicommons}}<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
*{{cite book |author=Kossak , Steven | title= ''Indian court painting, 16th-19th century.'' | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=1997| isbn=0870997831 | url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/12335/rec/74}} (see index: p.&nbsp;148-152)<br />
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[[Category:Schools of Indian painting]]<br />
[[Category:Culture of Bihar]]<br />
[[Category:Patna]]</div>imported>Vishwamalva