Chennai hosts an art exhibit showcasing Pichwai, some dating back 350 years

Head to Collage for a crash course on Pichwai art, as the space hosts paintings from all four schools of the art form, some dating back 350 years

When Gajendra Kumar Singh started collecting Pichwai art in the 1950s, he had no idea that he was building a legacy. Today, paintings from his collection hang at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and — for just this weekend — Chennai’s Collage.

The collector’s granddaughter, Nikita Singh, studied art restoration, specialising in Indian art from the Victoria Albert Museum in England. With a Masters in Museology and Art Appreciation, Nikita worked at the National museum, archiving and documenting Ancient Indian art. Along with her sister, Chandni Singh, she runs Bangla 123, a concept store in Delhi focused on art, especially the large Pichwai collection they have inherited.

Over a call, Nikita explains how the paintings which originated in Nathdwara, about 70 kilometres from Udaipur, are always done on cloth, usually khadi.

“The artists use stone pigments, especially for gold and silver tones. The brighter orange, red, chrome yellow and kesari colours come from vegetable dyes,” she says, explaining how the detailed work is painstakingly painted. “The cloth has to be put flat on the group, and a painting that is five feet by eight, for example, will take three months to complete, which makes it quite challenging for the older artists.”

When Nikita’s grandfather got into Pichwai, she says he pioneered some modern themes in the work. “In 1955 or so, he commissioned about 20 artists to reproduce traditional Pichwais, but suggested putting polka dots on the cows, or hand prints on them, which gave them a more contemporary feel,” she says. 

While most of their buyers were abroad in the 1970s, she says that has changed. For the last 10 years, Pichwai has been flourishing. “Post Covid especially, more people are spending money on art,” says Nikita, adding that they are seeing a surge of younger buyers. As a result, some younger artists who moved to other cities and towns in search of work, are now returning to their hometowns in Rajasthan to resume learning the techniques from their fathers and grandfathers.

At the Collage show, Nikita will be bringing about four catalogue pieces from her personal collection, the oldest of which is about 350 years. She plans to also bring a few pieces from each school of Pichwai — Nathdwara, Kishangarh and Bundi in Rajasthan — as well as paintings from the Deccan school, which are relatively rare.