Myth, Symbolism, and Sacred Artistry: Understanding Pichwai Paintings Nathdwara

The preeminent style of Pichwai Paintings Nathdwara originated over 400 years ago in a sacred town near Udaipur, Rajasthan. Highly skilled artists and their families accompanied the swaroop of Shrinathji and settled near the temple in an area known as Chitrakaron ki Gali, or the painter’s street. The formative years of the Nathdwara School absorbed diverse influences from Rajasthan’s Mewar tradition, the formal precision of the Jaipur School, and elements from Bundi, Kota, Jodhpur, and Kishangarh. Particularly, Kishangarh’s refined, elongated eye treatment inspired several Nathdwara works. As this style flourished through the 19th and 20th centuries, it developed a distinctive idiom with dreamy-eyed cows, fuller figures, bell-shaped skirts, and large almond eyes, defining the classic aesthetic of Pichwai Paintings Nathdwara.