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| Sunday, 13 February 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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The renowned paintings of Kelaniya
We have written about the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara in a previous article on Heritage Splendour. We have already explained that the viharage in the temple contains some of the most breathtaking paintings to be seen in Sri Lanka to date. This week, we examine these works of art more closely. The evolution of paintings in Sri Lanka can be classified under several eras: pre-historic, Anuradhapura, Polonnaru, Gampola, Kandy and Colombo. The paintings at Kelani are some of the finest examples of work belonging to the Colombo era. The older viharage of the Kelani temple, consisting of two chambers, contains paintings depicting jataka stories. It is believed that the paintings had been done with the intention of leading the people along the correct path in life. The chamber beside the old viharage contains four classic paintings which are known as Mahiyanganan, Nagadeepan, Kalyanan and Padalanchanan. The newer sections of the viharage contain paintings done by the well-known artist from Kahawa, Solius Mendis, over a period spanning 15 years. The viharage is the only location in the country where we can see the completed work of this great artist, who was born on July 12, 1895 and died on September 1, 1975. He had started working on these paintings around the 1930s. Mendis changed the tradition of temple art followed upto that time, and even chose new themes for his work. The artwork at Kelani Vihara depict the vihara's history and other important Buddhist events, and follow the tradition of other Eastern countries. The old method of drawing several pictures to depict a series of happenings in the same event was done away with, and bigger pictures, taking up more space on the walls, were drawn. Some of them were actual life-size drawings. He is said to have followed his own style in drawing, after studying the paintings at the Ajanta and Ellore caves in India. Even the colours and paints used had been created by him, using locally available natural material such as clay. Mendis is said to have created the statues in the temple too.
The lines of his art are very delicate and lively, and has a tri-dimensional appearance. He has followed the technique known as 'Petpara' where the drawings are done on dry plaster. By using various colours in drop form, transparent shapes had been achieved. The artist had been very successful in his mix of colours and there are hardly any instances of colours like blue and green being used in their pure form. The colours which are most prominent are maroon, yellow, black, white and red. It is difficult even to imagine how Mendis would have conceived of some of the shades used in the temple.They are paler and more soothing to the eye. These works of art received acclaim the world over, and have been recognised for their refined elegance. Mendis' exquisite paintings had brought fame and recognition for the Kelani Vihara throughout the Buddhist world, making it a national treasure which has to be protected for the sake of our future generations. |
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