Kathakali
Paintings
Paintings in Kerala, date at least a thousand years back. The earliest of murals, attributing to the Kerala's tradition are found in a small cave shrine in the southern part of erstwhile Travancore. The murals of the temples at Haripad, Aranmula, Vaikom and Udayapuram are exquisite specimens of artistic excellence.
The pinnacle of achievements in pictorial art is visible on the walls of the shrine at Sree Padmanabhaswami temple, Thiiruvananthapurm, executed in the true native style. Painting in oil colour was popularised in Kerala by Raja Ravivarma, his paintings were mostly scenes and figures of mythological interest, remarkable for their richness of tone. Even during his lifetime, Ravivarma was famous in the art circles of the World. His paintings are exhibited at the Sreechitra art gallery in Thiruvananthapuram, Baroda and Mysore Museums. Today a number of talented painters like Madhavamenon, K.C.S Panikar and M.V Devan have enriched the scene with their contributions.
