Indian Art - Gond Tribal Paintings

Traditional art of the Indian Gond people

I've just seen this interesting Facebook page about one of my favourite forms of Indian art: Gond Tribal Paintings, you can see it at: https://www.facebook.com/gondandbhiltribalart. There are some wonderful images of this painting style and I especially like the title of this book: The Night Life of Trees.

On their blog there are some beautiful images of Gond paintings but, since they have copyright, here are some you can buy on our Indian Paintings pages. I've been collecting Gond paintings ever since I first saw them 10 years ago in Delhi.

I love this representation of the elephant headed god Ganesh. Delightful in it's simplicity and typically Gond!

Indian art takes many forms, as you expect from a country of that size and diversity and a population close to one billion. Almost all the different communities have their own art forms which in some cases, like the Gond, transcend local taste and values.

The Gond tribal community is one of central India's largest indigenous communities and their art is an expression of their everyday quest for life. The Gond believe that viewing a good image brings good luck. This belief  led the Gonds to decorate their houses and floors with traditional motifs.

In the last few years the Gond artists have started painting onto paper and canvas and the most talented artists have become recognised in galleries in Bhopal and Delhi. The filling in of the outline shapes with tiny detailed motifs is a characteristic of individual Gond artists.