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2020-06-18T09:58:21Z

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{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}

[[File:MET DP156677.jpg|thumb|Pichhwai for the Festival of Cows, late 18th century, [[Aurangabad]](?), painted and printed gold and silver leaf and opaque watercolor on indigo-dyed cotton, 97 5/8 x 103 1/8 inches (248 x 262 cm)<ref>This pichhwai is in the collection of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], a gift of The Friends of Asian Art in 2003 and may be seen in Gallery 243. (Accession #2003.177)</ref>]]

'''Pichhwai''' (also '''pichhavai''', pichhvai, pechhavai etc) are large devotional [[Hindu]] painted pictures, normally on cloth, which portray [[Krishna]]. They are mainly made to hang in [[Hindu temple]]s of the [[Pushtimarg]] devotional tradition, especially the [[Shrinathji Temple]] in [[Nathdwara]], [[Rajasthan]], built around 1672. They are hung behind the idol of [[Shrinathji]], a local form of Krishna and the centre of Pushtimarg worship, to depict his ''leelas.'' [[Aurangabad]] was another area associated with them.<ref>Blurton, 142-143; Harle, 393</ref> The purpose of Pichhwais, other than artistic appeal, is to narrate tales of Krishna to the illiterate. Temples have sets with different images, which are changed according to the [[Shrinathji#Festivals_and_rituals_at_the_temple|calendar of festivals celebrating the deity]].<ref>Blurton, 142-143</ref>

The word Pichhwai stands for hanging at the back (Sanskrit word "Pichh" means back and "wais" means hanging). [[Nathdwara painting]] covers these and similar works in other genres, especially [[Indian miniature painting]]s. Like the Pushtimarg tradition, they originated in the Deccan, but are now mainly associated with [[Western India]].

==Modern production==
Pichhwai have become the main export of Nathdwara and are in much demand among foreign visitors. The artists live mostly in Chitron ki gali (Street of paintings) and Chitrakaron ka mohallah (colony of painters) and make a close community with constant interaction. Often a Pichhwai painting is a group effort, where several skilful painters work together under the supervision of a master artist.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Rajasthan, India - Festival of the Cattle (Gopashtami); shrine hanging (pichhavai) - Google Art Project.jpg|Festival of the Cattle (Gopashtami); shrine hanging, 19th century, 223 cm (87.79″) x 220 cm (86.61″)
File:Temple hanging (pechhavai) - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Gopi]]s and cows, late 18th century, cotton plain-weave, dyed and painted with opaque watercolors, gold and silver, 244 cm (96.06″) x 254 cm (100″)
File:Kota school, Rajasthan, India - Priests worshipping Krishna as Shrinathji for Mountain of Food festival (Annakuta utsava); shrine ha... - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]] school, Rajasthan, "Priests worshipping Krishna as [[Shrinathji]] for Mountain of Food festival (Annakuta utsava), c. 1840, 188.5 cm (74.21″) x 144.5 cm (56.88″)
File:Krishna (Shrinathji) and the Dancing Gopis. Pichhavai from the Temple of Nathdvara, Rajasthan, 19 sent. Staatlische Museen, Berlin..jpg|Krishna as Shrinathji and the Dancing Gopis, from the temple of Nathdvara, 19th century
File:A pichhvai of the Vraj Parikrama 19th c., showing Krishna as Shrinathji.jpg|Unusual pichhwai showing the Vraj Parikrama, a circular pilgrimage route around the locations of Krishna's life, 65¾ x 47 in. (168 x 120 cm.), 19th century.

</gallery>

==Notes==
* [https://www.artzolo.com/pichwai-paintings Pichwai Paintings]
{{commonscat|Pichhwai}}
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*Blurton, T. Richard, ''Hindu Art'', 1994, British Museum Press, {{ISBN|0 7141 1442 1}}
*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, {{ISBN|0300062176}}

[[Category:Vaishnavism]]
[[Category:Rajasthani arts]]
[[Category:Genres of Indian art]]
[[Category:Rajsamand district]]
[[Category:Indian painting]]

Pichhwai - Revision history

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