Warli Painting

The Warlis are tribal cultivators in the Thane district of north Maharashtra whose traditional art forms were in the past restricted to images of the mother goddess. However, since the 1960`s the artists have been encouraged to paint in a much freer narrative style.

 

Typically these paintings show multitudes of tiny human forms hunting, dancing or cultivating the land. They rely more on line than colour, usually being drawn with white rice paste. Ritualistic paintings were formerly done by Warli women but have now been taken over by the men who prefer to depict everyday scenes.