Khushi Sharma
Chamba paintings are a style of miniature painting from the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh, India.
Chamba paintings are known for their use of red and blue colors, and for the warm, sensual beauty of the female figures. The paintings often depict scenes from love poems, battles, or episodes from Hindu legends like the Ramayana.
The paintings of Chamba encompass both miniatures and murals.Raja Udai Singh and Raja Jai Singh patronized this school of painting. During the reign of Raja Charhat Singh, this school of art got a further boost from folk art as the common people adopted the form.
History
Chamba paintings are quite similar in appearance to Mughal style of paintings, with strong influences of Deccan and Gujarat style also.The Chamba paintings also derived inspiration from natural surroundings and are remarkable in their composition. The Chamba style is similar to that of Guler paintings as numerous artists of this school came from Guler.
Mughal influence is also discerned in these paintings. The themes used in this style of paintings were religious, such as legends of Radha Krishna, lord Shiva-Parvati, Rama Darbar, Yashoda and Krishna etc.