to England where they probably enlivened many an evening tea! The British Museum and The Victoria and Albert Museum have an enviable collection of such paintings. Though the British patronised paintings tend to be grouped under the Company style of paintings, they were Tanjore paintings in spirit. In addition to being executed by the same traditional group of artists in Thanjavur and the neighbouring Tamil country, the style and characterisation in these paintings are very typically Thanjavur as against the style of say, Company paintings executed in Calcutta or Lucknow. Modern times Thanjavur paintings continue to be made even to the present day, though not with the rigour and virtuosity that marked the paintings of yore. 'Revival' programmes, Exhibitions, Workshops and Training camps on Thanjavur paintings are being held regularly by many institutions including State Governments. The materials used have also changed according to the cost, ease of availability and the choice of individual artists. Plywood, for example has by and large replaced Jack and teak wood. Synthetic colours and adhesives are preferred over the natural and mineral colours and other traditional components. Muck powder, a fine powder of chalk, is also used to create a 3D effect in the paintings. In addition to the traditional subjects, a wide range of popular and modern subjects and themes are being depicted in Thanjavur paintings. While it is a happy development that this traditional art continues to hold its sway, the brazen commercialisation and lack of aesthetics are disturbing trends. Be that as it may, Thanjavur paintings – the style and aesthetics continue to inspire many contemporary artists. The Calendar prints of C. Kondiah Raju and his student followers, marked by an iconic solidness as against the western naturalism of Raja Ravi Varma, are examples of the continued influence of Tanjore paintings in modern, popular and academic art. Artists have taken this old form of art and over the years combined it with other styles to create mixed media arts. For example, tanjores are also done on mirrors, glass and canvas. The idea of applying gold foil is unique to this traditional art, so this same style is taken and recreated on different mediums. References test Further reading Tanjavur Painting of the Maratha Period, By Jaya Appasamy published by Abhinav Publishers Thanjavur – A Cultural History by Pradeep Chakravarthy Published by Niyogi books Tamil art Schools of Indian painting Thanjavur district Cultural