Myanmar's Painting

» An introduction to Myanmar painting would necessarily have to begin with the prehistoric Paleolithic Age.

» The Stone Age man has left indelible concrete evidence of his artistic inspiration and talent in certain regions of Upper Myanmar. Thus, a historical record of the development of Myanmar painting would have to start from this dawning of the artistic drive of our ancestors who inhabited this land of ours. These are the wall paintings of Padalin Cave.

» The wall paintings discovered in Padalin Cave near Ywangan village in southern Shan State, on examination, have been found to be of the same calibre as the cave paintings of other Stone Age men of Europe, with the artists employing the same techniques. The paint used was derived from a solution of clay dissolved in some kind of animal fat and the colours were mainly black, brown and orange. Scholars have concluded that the paint was probably obtained by heating animal fat before mixing the components to achieve the desired shade and colour.

» The pictures drawn and painted on the limestone walls of the cave are about ten to twelve feet high from the ground.

» The depictions are of the sun, fish, a human palm, a cow and calf, deer, elephant, wild boar and bison. The technique consisted of line drawings overlaid with thick paint. They seem to convey a sense of identification with nature, with overtones of force and pride.

» In the latter part of the era Before Christ and the earlier part of the Christian Era, there is ample historical evidence that cultures and civilizations emerged and flourished in the central regions of Myanmar such as the Pyu, Rakhine and Mon civilizations. There is firm material evidence that cities and large villages were built for the people to settle in.

» Ancient sites of cities like Beikthano, (Vishnu), Hanlin, Shri Khetra, Dannyawaddy, Thaton and Suvvanabhumi have been excavated yielding incontestable evidence that there once flourished ancient cultures and civilizations. Archaeological excavations have unearthed evidence in the form of ancient religious monuments, palace sites, foundations of residential buildings and palace walls. A large assortment of household utensils, pots and urns, gold coins, statuettes and bronze images, rings, necklaces, boxes and receptacles, bronze clusters of lotus ornaments, balls, bronze sculptures and many other artifacts have also been discovered. All this point to the development of Myanmar traditional arts and crafts – the art of the gold and silver smith, stucco relief, stone sculpture, wood carving and sculpture, black smith, bronze, brass and copper casting, masonry, turnery and lapidary. These are included in what is traditionally known in Myanmar as the ten "forms" of art. But painting which is definitely considered one of these "forms" is conspicuous by its absence from the artifacts excavated from these ancient sites. Paintings and painted objects are nowhere to be found and this has raised grave doubts about its very being at the time.

» But in fact, there is a plausible and rational explanation for the absence of paintings in the cultural legacy of the ancient Pyu, Mon and Rakhine civilizations. At the time in question, techniques for the preservation of paintings had yet to be discovered or invented. So it could be that paintings of the time had not been able to withstand the ravages of weather, natural disasters and the wars that were rampant at the time between the various city-states. Physical material evidence of the art of painting is therefore missing. Yet there is no evidence to the contrary that the art of painting had not yet developed and that it had not been part and parcel of the civilizations of the period. The issue remains thus a conundrum.

» As stated above, the oldest record of Myanmar painting accessible to modern man are those of the Paleolithic Age. Regrettably, there are no traces nor records of paintings of the Pyu, Mon and Rakhine cultures that arose and flourished tens of thousands of years ago, after the Stone Age, yet leaving behind a wealth of the other forms of art such as architecture, sculpture etc. The art of painting reemerged only a thousand to a thousand five hundred years later, that is about fifteen centuries after the above ancient civilizations had waned or vanished. Painting regained its rightful place only with the rise of the Bagan Dynasty in the 10th century and lasted till the end of the 11th century.

» Originally, the paintings of the Bagan Period were mostly frescoes on temple walls. The more outstanding works can still be seen on the walls of the Ananda Temple, the Kyansitt Cave, the Apeyadana Temple, the Wetkyee-inn, Gupyaukkyi, Myinkaba Gubyaukkyi, Gubyauknge, Lokkahteikpan, the temples of Pai-nathasu, the Nandamanya, Hpayathonzu, Pahtotharmyar, Nagayon, Thambula, Kyansittha Cave and the Theinmazee temples. Later when the artists had developed their skills considerably, they began to paint on other media such as wood and cloth .

» Time passed by, but the tradition of painting on the walls of temples, caves, monasteries and other religious buildings persisted through the later dynastic periods of Pinnya, Innwa and Konbaung. There are beautiful wall paintings reflecting in impeccable detail, the social customs, manners, entertainment and style of dress of the time. These can be seen side by side with the traditional religious themes. They are still in almost perfect condition as seen in the Sagaing Meepaukkyi, Lokkahmankin, and Amarapura Shweguthar pagodas. Some ancient pagodas at Pakkoku, a small but ancient town in central Myanmar, also boast of such paintings. Still others can be found at the Ananda Monastery, the U Pali Ordination hall and the Culamani Temple of Bagan; the Lokka Aungmye Cave Temple at Khinmon village; in several small pagodas centred around the Shwezigon Pagoda at Innwa and the Kyauktawgyi Temple at Taungthaman village near Mandalay.

» In the latter part of the Konbaung Dynasty, in the heyday of the art and culture of Amarapura and Ratanabon ( Mandalay) cities, palm leaf manuscript painting came into vogue which spread and developed rapidly. But even before that, painting on lacquer and palm leaf had been experimented with in stages. But in the period of Amarapura and Ratanabon, paper also came into wider use as a medium to be followed by paintings on cloth and canvass.

» The power of the Myanmar monarchy reached its summit with the capital cities of Amarapura and Ratanabon as the centres of Myanmar civilization. Yet, it could also be said to be the twilight of the reign of Myanmar kings, for the country was on the verge of losing its sovereignty and the country would finally fall under British colonial rule. This was also a period when Myanmar had established contacts with foreign nations and relations with European countries had increased appreciably.

» The art of painting in this period had also enjoyed royal patronage. Myanmar kings of the time like King Bodawpaya (1782 – 1819), King Bagyidaw (1819 – 1837), King Tharyarwady (1837 – 1846), King Bagan (1846 – 1853), King Mindon (1853 – 1878) and King Thibaw (1853 – 1885) appointed artists to the court for royalty. Painting thus came to play an important role in court life. But due to the political situation and the state of Myanmar’s international relations, foreign influences had begun to infiltrate into the world of Myanmar painting, resulting in a decline of its ancient forms. In the reign of King Bagyidaw and King Bagan the royal court artist was a Myanmar, Kyaw Htin Nawrahta, who was followed by U Kyar Nyunt in the court of King Mindon, and Saya (Teacher or honorific name ) Sar to that of King Thibaw. But Saya Sar was succeeded by two Italian artists and only later on, by another Myanmar, Saya Chon.

» During King Thibaw’s reign the first court artist to be appointed was Saya Sar ( son of U Kyar Nyunt, royal artist to Mindon). But unfortunately he became blind and two Italian artists were appointed in the interim period before Myanmar artist Saya Chon, who was a pupil of Saya Sar was chosen and appointed. This event shows clearly that the influence of western painting had begun to seep into Myanmar painting. If a study is made of the work of royal artist Saya Chon, it will be seen that his paintings, although based on traditional Myanmar techniques, showed a distinctly European influence in his depiction of depth and perspective.

» The time of Saya Chon’s fame coincided with the collapse of the Myanmar monarchy and the subjugation of the country under British colonial rule. But a few Myanmar artists, contemporary to Saya Chon did make a name for themselves in the early colonial period. They were:

1. Saya Pon	8. Saya Nwe
2. Saya Maung Gyi	9. Saya Thaung
3. Saya Maung Hlaing	10. Saya Ni
4. Saya Maung Thair	11. Saya Mya Gyi
5. Saya Aye	12. Saya Mya
6. Saya Thu	13. Saya Myot
7. Saya Saw	14. Saya Myit.