Watercolour and gold paint on Japanese Shikishi board
During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.
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Watercolour and ink on Japanese Shikishi board
His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.
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Water pot with elongated neck and flat rim, Quartz stone paste with underglaze painting of carp design in black monochrome
Collection: Kristine Michael, New Delhi
Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels.
Untitled
Watercolour and gold paint on Japanese Shikishi board
During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.
Untitled
Watercolour and ink on Japanese Shikishi board
His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.
Untitled
Water pot with elongated neck and flat rim, Quartz stone paste with underglaze painting of carp design in black monochrome
Collection: Kristine Michael, New Delhi
Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels.
Untitled
Watercolour and gold paint on Japanese Shikishi board
During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.
Untitled
Watercolour and ink on Japanese Shikishi board
His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.
Untitled
Water pot with elongated neck and flat rim, Quartz stone paste with underglaze painting of carp design in black monochrome
Collection: Kristine Michael, New Delhi
Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance.
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Ginger Jar with black floral cartouches and etched design on a white background, Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Anuradha Ravindranath, New Delhi
Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance.
Untitled
Ginger Jar with black floral cartouches and etched design on a white background, Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Anuradha Ravindranath, New Delhi
Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.
Untitled
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance.
Untitled
Ginger Jar with black floral cartouches and etched design on a white background, Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Anuradha Ravindranath, New Delhi
Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.
THE PAINTER WHO BECAME A POTTER
Kripal Singh Shekhawat of Jaipur worked his entire life to bridge the gap between the vernacular and the contemporary, combining what was considered the craft of a kumhar—potter—with the fine art of miniature painting. He paved a new path for a pioneering social and aesthetic mode of life in twentieth century India.
This landmark exhibition traces his journey from the early folk influences in Shekhawati, Rajasthan to his experiments with traditional painting techniques in Santiniketan, Japan, and Delhi, following him back to Jaipur where he took on the challenge of reviving the state’s now iconic blue pottery.
Pabuji Rathore on Horseback
Wash and tempera on paper
Courtesy: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
ROOTS IN AN EARLY ARTISTIC LIFE
Kripal Singh Shekhawat was born in Mau in the Shekhawati district of Rajasthan on 11 December 1922 in a zamindari Rajput Thakur family. As a child, he keenly watched and absorbed influences, processes and ideas from the local village crafts such as meenakari and lac crafts, beaten metal works, and frescoes.
His first experience of formal art training was as a young man, learning naturalistic academic style painting at evening art classes by Bhoor Singh Shekhawat. Bhoor Singh had studied at Bombay’s Sir J. J. School of Art and was supported by the influential Birla family.
Dragon Dancer Ink
Watercolour and gold paint on Japanese Shikishi board
INFLUENCE OF SANTINIKETAN AND TOKYO
From 1943 to 1947, Kripal Singh studied at Kala Bhavana, the path breaking art school in Santiniketan, West Bengal, and later taught there till 1951. It was in Santiniketan that Kripal Singh moved away from European naturalism and deepened his interest in folk traditions and craft.
In 1951, with the support of industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla, he joined the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts for a two-year training in traditional oriental painting and decoration, continuing a long lineage of exchange between Bengal and Japan.
He was taught by revivalist nihonga artists like Kawabata Ryūshi and Mayeda Renzō, and studied the classical works of artists like Toba Sōjō Kakuyū (1053–1140) and Ogata Kōrin (1658-1716).
‘Lovers of art will surely appreciate his technique and the wealth and grace of his colours. He has shown a special aptitude for the characteristic technique of medieval Indian art. His brush and miniature work, wood engraving and graphic art claim special admiration of connoisseurs.’
Nandalal Bose
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Watercolour on paper
Collection: Vinay Sharma, Jaipur
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Untitled (Sawai Jai Singh’s son, Ishwar Singh leading the official Mata Gangaur Sawari)
Natural pigments on Arayesh plaster
Collection: ITC Rajputana, Jaipur
Untitled (Sawai Jai Singh II Astride a Horse)
Natural pigments on Arayesh plaster
Collection: ITC Rajputana, Jaipur
SEARCH FOR AN INTEGRATION OF THE TRADITIONAL AND THE CONTEMPORARY
Kripal Singh lived in Delhi from 1955 to 1958, and then moved back to Rajasthan, settling in Jaipur to teach miniature painting at the Shilp Kala Mandir. He continued to travel, studying and documenting paintings at historical sites across the continent. This was a period where he received a series of important commissions, including several frescoes and paintings by Lalit Kala Akademi, City Palace Museum, Jaipur and the ISKCON Temple at San Francisco. His work remained rooted in historical or mythological themes, with figurative works in the style of miniature paintings, inspired by Japanese aesthetic ideals.
Untitled (Miscellaneous Plates)
Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
Collection: Kristine Michael, New Delhi
CRAFT REVIVAL IN A NEW MEDIUM
Kripal Singh had been exposed to the need of crafts revival from his days in Santiniketan and Japan. Encouraged by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a prominent social reformer, he took on the challenge of reviving the local blue pottery tradition in Jaipur. It is here that Kripal Singh discovered the painted surface of the vessel as a perfect foil for the amalgamation of the Rajput, fresco, and Japanese art styles that he was experimenting with.
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Kripal Singh Shekhawat was awarded the Padma Shree by the Indian government in 1974. He stood largely unacknowledged, at the edge of the contemporary studio pottery movement in India initiated by Gurcharan Singh, Devi Prasad and others. His critics viewed him either as a craft revivalist, a painter who only used the pottery surface as his canvas, and one whose works did not reflect contemporary forms of expression in ceramics. His paintings too were decried by some as overly nostalgic. However, it can also be argued that he effortlessly straddled the worlds of the artist and the craftsman, ably confounding the Indian art historian’s narrow view of the growth of Indian modernism.
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Quartz stone paste body with transparent glaze and underglaze
