Mural Paintings

Kerala holds the second place, with a large collection of archeologically important mural sites in India. Evolved as a compliment to her unique architectural style, these wall paintings are characterized by their liner accuracy, the adherence to color symbolism elaborate ornamentations and sensitive portrayal of emotions.

The tradition of painting on walls began in Kerala with the pre-historic rock paintings found in the Anjanad valley of Idukki district. Archaeologists presume that these paintings belong to different periods from upper Paleolithic period to early historic period. Rock engravings dating to the Mesolithic period have also been discovered in two regions of Kerala, at Edakkal in Wayanad and at Perimkadavila in Thiruvanathapuram district. The oldest murals in Kerala were discovered in the rock cut cave temple of Thiruvandikkara, which is now in the Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu.

The subjects derived from religious texts were highly stylized pictures of gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, not a fanciful representation but drawn from the description in the invocatory verses or 'dyana slokas'. Flora and fauna and other aspects of nature were pictured as backdrops, in highly stylized manners.

Ancient temples, churches and palaces in Kerala, South India, display an abounding tradition of mural paintings mostly dating back between the 9th to 12th centuries AD when this form of art enjoyed Royal patronage.

The murals of Thirunadhikkara Cave Temple (now ceded to Tamil Nadu) and Tiruvanchikulam are considered the oldest relics of Kerala’s own style of murals. Fine mural paintings are depicted in temples at Trikodithanam, Ettumanur, Vaikom, Udayanapuram, Triprangode, Guruvayoor, the Vadakkunathan temple in Trichur and the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram. Other mural sites are in the churches at Edappalli, Vechur, Cheppad and Mulanthuruthi, and at palaces such as the Krishnapuram Palace near Kayamkulam and the Padmanabhapuram Palace.

The murals of Kanthaloor Temple in Thiruvananthapuram (13th Century), Pisharikavu and Kaliliampath in Kozhikode distict (14th Century) are the oldest temple frescoes of Kerala. Representing this prolific period of mural arts (14th and 16th centuries A.D), are the Ramayana murals of Mattanchery palace, the paintings in the Chemmanthitta Siva Temple, Kudamaloor and Thodeekkalam in Kannur district. The wall paintings at Panayannarkavu, Thichakrapuram, Kottakkal, Padmanabhapuram and Krishnapuram palaces and those in the inner chambers of Mattanchery palace, represent a much later period in the evolution of medieval mural tradition.

The traditional style mural art form, using natural pigments and vegetable colours, is being revived by a new genre of artists actively involved in researching and teaching mural art at the Sree Sankara Sanskrit College in Kalady and also at a mural art school associated with the Guruvayoor temple.